Getting To Know You
by CruorLuna
Summary: Abby wants the team to spend some ‘quality time’ together. Abby being Abby, this results in the investigators and co playing a truth telling game in Gibbs’ basement. The past will be revealed, truths told, and surprises are in store for everyone concerned
1. Introduction

**Title:** Getting To Know You  
**Author:** CruorLuna (Alison)  
**Rating:** T, for now. May change later!  
**Category:** NCIS: Naval Criminal Investigative Service  
**Genre:** Humour, slight romance  
**Pairings:** At the moment, none, as such, but probably Jibbs (Jen/Gibbs) in later chapters, and slight hints of Abby/McGee  
**Characters:** Gibbs, Jen, Tony, Ziva, Abby, McGee, Ducky, Jimmy

**Summary:** Abby wants the team to spend some 'quality time' together. Abby being Abby, this results in the investigators and co playing a truth telling game in Gibbs' basement. The past will be revealed, truths told, and surprises are in store for everyone concerned.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own NCIS or the characters. Shocked? You really, really shouldn't be. I'd start worrying if I were you …

**A/N:** This is just a bit of nonsense that floated up from my subconscious, and I thought I'd write it down and see how it looked. It's really just my thoughts on the characters' pasts, and if anyone's slightly OOC, then I apologise – just how I see it. Anyway, it's all meant in good fun, and I admit I've borrowed a small section in this first chapter from s3ep1 'Kill Ari – Part I,' but it's not intended to be plagiarised. I just loved that scene and thought it led in well to the rest of the fic, and I changed it very slightly. Reviews are always appreciated if you enjoy my madness, and feel free to make suggestions too! Enjoy :)

* * *

"This is so cool, Gibbs. I mean, seriously. Couldn't you just sleep in here?"

"I have done," Jethro confessed with a laugh. Abby Scuito always amused him with her quirky ways, and tonight was no exception. The team had gathered in his basement, the only room in his home he could feel relaxed, for some off-the-record bonding time. Abby had been pushing the idea for months, and now that Kate was gone and they had a new team member to welcome, she insisted that now was the best time to do it. Jethro wasn't generally the most sociable of men, but he couldn't deny that it made sense to make Ziva feel comfortable around them. What he didn't understand at first was why it had to be in his home, but then it hit him: the others had probably all been to one another's houses many times already.

"Where are all your tools?" Ziva David, the newest recruit to their NCIS team, asked with a frown, circling the framework curiously.

"Over there." Jethro pointed to his workbench where the majority of his tools were laid out, and Ziva followed his gaze. He knew she was unaccustomed to American ways, and he with his eccentric habits probably wasn't helping things. But it was fun for him.

"Hand tools?" Jimmy Palmer quailed under the look Jethro shot him across the room. Ducky had dragged his poor assistant along in an attempt to integrate him into the group, but Jethro found teasing him too entertaining to stop, and it seemed DiNozzo enjoyed doing the same, so the poor bloke really had no chance.

"I think it'd be so cool to sleep in a boat," Abby enthused, repeating her sentiments for the tenth time in as many minutes. "Well, in a framework, I mean."

"Yeah, but you sleep in a coffin," Tony DiNozzo pointed out. Abby threw a potato chip at him in response. She, Tony, Tim McGee and Ducky were all seated inside the framework, leaning against the wooden beams for support, and Ziva and Jimmy stood outside it, watching them all as though they were crazy. Leroy Jethro Gibbs himself also sat under his canopy of wood, at the head of the group. Surrounding them were empty beer bottles and chip packets, despite the fact that they'd only been there half an hour.

"Did you hear that?" McGee asked suddenly, sitting up straighter. Jethro cocked his ear, having clocked the disturbance upstairs as well. He heard the clicking of shoes, presumably ladies' heels, across the kitchen tiles, followed by the sound of the fridge opening and then closing a moment later. The footsteps then grew closer, and he didn't even have to turn around to know the surprise guest had appeared at the top of the stairs.

"Still don't lock your door, Jethro?"

"And the beer's still in the same place, as you've obviously discovered, Jen," he responded. He ignored the stunned glances of everyone around him, excluding Ducky, as the newly appointed Director of NCIS descended Jethro's basement staircase, beer bottle in hand. Jenny Shepard greeted Ziva with a brief hug, the two being old friends, and then climbed easily between two beams to Jethro's side. He was mildly surprised to see her in jeans and a t-shirt, but didn't let it show. She met his eye and smiled slightly, before shooting a displeased look at Tony, who was sitting just to Jethro's right.

"DiNozzo!" Jethro barked, knowing exactly what her point was. The younger man looked up at him, surprised, and Jethro jerked his head. "Move."

"What?" Tony asked, appearing bemused and half-laughing. Jethro raised his eyebrows.

"Move," he repeated more slowly, as if DiNozzo were dense. "That's Jen's seat."

"Oh, sorry, Madam Director," Tony apologised, still looking utterly perplexed as he got up and moved around to sit with McGee and Abby. Jen shot Jethro an amused glance and a wink as she settled herself at his right hand, between him and Ducky. The others all looked between themselves, seemingly shocked into silence at this new development, but Jen barely seemed to notice, or if she did, she ignored it.

"Is this the same boat you were building six years ago?" she asked curiously, cracking open her beer bottle and looking up at Jethro. He took a swig of his own and shook his head.

"Nope." He was in no mood to share.

"What happened to it?" Apparently, she wanted him to share.

"Burned it."

"Why?" Jen asked, looking surprised. DiNozzo and Abby also shot him stunned looks, but Ducky merely shook his head and looked at his feet. Jethro glanced sideways at Jen, and saw her eyes light up with realisation. "You named it after an ex-wife." It wasn't a question. "Which one?"

"You know damn well which one," he snapped, uncomfortable with the fact that Tony, McGee, Abby, Ziva and **Palmer**, of all people, were all listening in on this conversation.

"You could have just changed the name," Jen pointed out, seeming to be enjoying herself far too much. He rolled his eyes.

"Wouldn't have mattered. Every time I went out on her I would have thought of Diane."

"Why not sell it, then?" she pushed. He scoffed a little at that one.

"And watch someone else sail off on her? Not likely."

"You didn't care who sailed off on Diane," she bit back. He laughed aloud at that one – he could hardly deny it, after all, and he had missed Jen's sense of humour. Ducky also let out an appreciative snort, and everyone else just looked confused, and also slightly impressed by Jen's daring.

"Fair call," Jethro admitted, raising his beer bottle. Jen clinked hers against his with a laugh.

"Cheers," she replied. "So, any particular reason we're all here, then?"

"Well, everyone else was invited," he said pointedly. "You, I don't know about."

"Gatecrashing," she countered smoothly. "I overheard that this was where you were all congregating and I thought I'd join in the fun. You know I always like to surprise you. That said, it looks like 'fun' was a little too hopeful on my part."

"Stick around, maybe it'll be my turn to surprise you next," he teased.

"I won't hold my breath."

"Oh, I have an idea!" Everyone turned towards Abby, who sat up on her knees, looking even more pleased with herself than usual. She gestured for Jimmy and Ziva to join them inside the boat, which they finally did after much shuffling around and muttering.

"All right, Abs, what's your idea?" Jethro asked eventually, once everyone was settled.

"Why don't we play a game of 'getting-to-know-you'?" she asked smugly. She was greeted by blank faces all around, and she rolled her eyes. "You all need to get out more," she informed them tartly. "All right, well, it's sort of like playing Truth – you know, as in Truth or Dare? – except it's much more fun, and you learn more about each other. We all take it in turns to ask a question and then **everyone** has to answer it, including the person who asked it."

"Sounds like torture," Jethro commented dryly.

"Sounds like fun," Jimmy said, looking excited.

"Yeah? All right, Jimmy!" Abby grinned and high-fived the nervous man. "Okay, so we have two so far – who else is up for it?"

"Count me out," Jethro said, leaning back.

"What?! Come on, Gibbs!" Abby pouted. "It'll be great!"

"What if we each get a free pass?" Jen interjected. Seven pairs of eyes swivelled towards her, and she raised her eyebrows. "What?!" she demanded defensively. "You don't think I've ever played Truth before? Directors were young once too, you know."

"I'm intrigued," Tony said, his tone mischievous. Jethro and Jen shot him identical warning looks, and he blanched. "Sorry, boss, sorry, Madam Director."

"Don't call me Madam," Jen said, rolling her eyes. "I'm not that old yet."

"So, what's a free pass?" McGee asked, looking between Jen and Abby, clearly as lost as Jethro felt. At least he could use his age as an excuse.

"Oh, sorry," Abby grinned. "It means if we really, **really** don't want to answer a question, we get to skip it. But we **have** to answer everything else. One free pass each sounds fair, but I will not agree to more than one. No fun."

"All right, I'll play," DiNozzo shrugged. "I'll probably be using my free pass on your question, though, Abs."

"Don't be so boring, Tony!"

"I'm in too," McGee said with a brisk nod, obviously not wanting to lose face in front of Abby. Jethro smirked to himself, wondering how long it would take for him to admit how deeply he cared for her.

"I'm always up for a laugh," Jen agreed. Once again everybody stared at her, and she rolled her eyes. "This could get tedious really fast."

"All right, Director!" Abby smirked, reaching over and wringing Jen's hand. Jen half-smiled, looking a little surprised, and shot Jethro a questioning look. He half-laughed and shrugged slightly, taking another drink.

"Ziva, you in?" Tony pressed the Israeli, who was still surveying them all with one eyebrow raised. Obviously she thought they were absolutely mental.

"I am not sure I completely understand the rules," she said slowly. "But I will try."

"Ducky?" Abby grinned, turning to the older man. He sighed a little, looking around him at all the grinning faces.

"Oh, all right, why not?" he conceded eventually. "I suppose there's no harm in it."

"What doesn't kill you only makes you stronger, Doctor," Jimmy pointed out, and Ducky shot his assistant a withering look.

"Very encouraging, thank you, Mr Palmer," he said dryly.

"So, Gibbs, that just leaves you," Abby said somewhat ominously. Jethro felt every eye in the room turn towards him, and he made a great show of looking at the join in the wood above his head. He would have to plane that down later.

"Come on, boss, what could it hurt?" DiNozzo added.

"Yeah, boss, it could be fun," McGee chimed in. Jethro looked first at him then back at Tony, and they both clamped their mouths shut. They had learned well.

"Is there something wrong with the game, Agent Gibbs?" Ziva questioned uncertainly. He continued to examine his handiwork silently, but then of course **she** felt the need to join in the ambush.

"Oh, come on, Jethro," Jen said persuasively. "No secrets between colleagues. Besides, unless you have something to hide, it shouldn't matter." He shot her a sideways glance, and she smirked almost imperceptibly. She knew he could never resist a challenge.

"Fine," he said shortly, and Abby and Tony let out great whoops of approval.

"All right!" Abby exclaimed. "All right, uh, who wants to go first?"

"I will."

* * *

**A/N2:** Ooooh, wonder who's going to go first?? Okay I don't wonder at all, because I know ... any guesses? :P

So what did you think? Absolutely crazy, really random, just plain ridiculous? I'd love to know. I'd also like to hear your suggestions for some of the mad questions and answers we could get, as I'm nowhere near finished them all yet! Thanks loads for reading, and let me know if you liked it!

Alison xx


	2. Oh, DiNozzo!

**Title:** Getting To Know You

**Author:** CruorLuna (Alison)

**Rating:** T, for now. May change later!

**Category:** NCIS: Naval Criminal Investigative Service

**Genre:** Humour, slight romance

**Pairings:** At the moment, none, as such, but probably Jibbs (Jen/Gibbs) in later chapters, and slight hints of Abby/McGee

**Characters:** Gibbs, Jen, Tony, Ziva, Abby, McGee, Ducky, Jimmy

**Summary:** Abby wants the team to spend some 'quality time' together. Abby being Abby, this results in the investigators and co playing a truth telling game in Gibbs' basement. The past will be revealed, truths told, and surprises are in store for everyone concerned.

**Disclaimer:** Not mine. What's not mine, you ask? Well, the characters you recognise, of course! No, I'm afraid Mr. D. Bellisario takes credit for those … any characters referred to in the answers relating to the past that you don't know, those are most likely mine, though. And the plot. jumps up and down Yey! I've been told for years that I've lost the plot, and now I can finally lay claim to one again! Squee!

**A/N:** Thanks loads to everyone who reviewed and/or added me and/or this fic to their alerts and/or favourites lists! Proper thanks and comments are at the end of the chapter ;) And yes, I like using 'and/or' a lot … Anyway, from here on in each chapter will basically address one question and all the different answers to it, in no particular order, i.e. they will not necessarily get funnier as they go on. I just hope they're relatively funny to begin with, actually! This chapter is all my own work, anyway – no reviewer ideas were used for this, so don't blame anyone else for the dodgy humour and strangeness of it – that's all me! And I apologise if I offend anyone in any way, not sure that it's offensive, but if anyone doesn't like the slightly weird scenarios I've come up with, then … don't read :P Thanks for reading and I hope you'll let me know what you think!

"All right, I've got one!"

"Finally!" Abby sat up straighter, crossing her legs in a meditation pose in front of her, and focused her gaze intently on Tony. Jethro chuckled inwardly at her enthusiasm for the game. DiNozzo had volunteered himself to start off the 'interrogation' as he had called it, but had then faltered when pressed to come up with a question there and then. That had been twenty minutes ago. And yet, Jethro silently praised the younger man's determination – he had refused, point blank, to let anybody else precede him. He just hoped it would be worth the wait … well, part of him hoped. Mostly he was just dreading what was to come. He couldn't believe he had let Jen manipulate him so easily, again. It was far too easy to slip back into old habits.

"Thanks for that, Abs," DiNozzo commented sarcastically. "All right, everyone ready? Okay, now, remember the rules: answer honestly, people! It's just a game, and whatever is said in this room – uh, basement … stays in this basement. So, here's the question: where is the weirdest place you've ever done it?"

"Oh, DiNozzo!" Jethro snapped, rolling his eyes. He might have known Tony would come out with something like that. Jen caught his eye, a badly concealed smirk on her face, and he knew that he wasn't going answer this question honestly. If they were both to do that, whoever went second would have to say 'same here,' and that was a truth he didn't want to put out there for his team to rip apart.

"Done what?" Ziva asked, looking around her bemusedly.

"You know, **it**," Abby repeated with emphasis, but Ziva just met her gaze blankly. "The dirty deed, Ziva? It!"

"I'm sorry, I don't understand …"

"Sex," Jen supplied bluntly. Comprehension dawned in Ziva's eyes, and she nodded briefly.

"Thank you, Jenny," she said with a smile. "I understand now. Well, Tony, I am not at all surprised at your question, in that case. Who is to start?"

"Tony picks," Abby said quickly, before anyone else could answer. "Whoever asks the question gets to choose who answers it and when. So, Tony? Whose naughty story do you want to hear first?"

"Probie's," DiNozzo grinned instantly. Jethro raised his eyes heavenward, as everyone else turned to face McGee, whose face had quickly turned the shade of a tomato.

"Uh, well, I haven't really had time to think about it," he began nervously.

"If you have to think, Probie, that's not a good start," Tony snickered.

"Abby, hit him," Jethro instructed boredly, and Abby whacked DiNozzo sharply on the back of the head. He yelped in surprise and shot her an accusing look before turning to glower at his boss.

"What?" Abby said innocently. "Gibbs told me to!"

"You are such a kiss-ass, Scuito," DiNozzo muttered. "Come on, Probie, we're waiting."

"Uh … all right, then, I think I know," McGee said, nodding as though to reassure himself of something. Of what, Jethro wasn't sure. "I think the weirdest place, for me, is probably … uh, well, this is a little embarrassing. It was in a tile warehouse."

"A **what**?!" Jimmy spluttered, and Jethro saw McGee shoot him an irritated look.

"Uh-uh, Probie, I'm afraid we're going to need a bit more information on this one." Jethro suspected DiNozzo was enjoying this a lot more than was healthy.

"Well, she was my girlfriend when I was nineteen," Tim said, clearing his throat unsurely. "I was studying at MIT during the day, and at nights, I worked night shift in a tile warehouse, operating cranes and moving boxes. It was boring, but it was good money and convenient hours, so, I took it. Anyway she and I hadn't seen a lot of each other – she dropped out of MIT about two months before – and she dropped by one night to surprise me. I was, uh, I was working alone for a couple of hours while my supervisor dealt with a personal errand, and things … we got carried away."

"Wow, McGee, I didn't know you had it in you," Abby said, looking at him as though impressed. "All right! Well, I applaud your honesty, Tim. Who next, Tony?"

"Well, personally, I'd love to know Jimmy's, since he's so amused," Tony said with a slightly demented grin, turning towards the young man. He reacted the opposite way to McGee, his face turning chalk white and eyes widening.

"Oh! Mine? Oh, yeah, okay, uh … it's really not very exciting, I mean, I haven't, you know, 'done it' in lots of weird places …"

"Spit it out, Jim-Jim," Tony pushed.

"Probably in the men's room … at work." Jethro almost spat out the mouthful of beer he had just taken, and reactions around the room weren't entirely dissimilar.

"**Our** men's room?" he demanded furiously.

"Oh, Mr Palmer …" Ducky shook his head, looking disappointed. Jimmy grinned bashfully and shrugged his shoulders.

"It was only once," he said, as though that made it all right.

"Which men's room?" Jethro asked, feeling sick to his stomach at the thought of Palmer getting it on with someone in the same men's room he used daily.

"Uh, the one in the foyer, just through security." Oh, well, that was slightly less disgusting, then, Jethro thought, relieved. He never used that one anyway, and would definitely make a point of avoiding it now. However, it seemed the others were more interested in the gory details than in making sure it didn't affect them personally.

"Who and when, Jimmy?" Tony pressed, smirking. Palmer chuckled nervously.

"She, uh, she used to work switchboards," he said reminiscently. "Her name was Samantha. She worked there for about three months last year, and we got to know each other pretty well. She was very forceful."

"That's disgusting, Jimmy," Abby said gleefully. "I'm so proud of you – you and McGee both! See, I told you this game was fun!"

"Yeah, truckloads," Jethro muttered. Abby shot him one of her famous exasperated glances, then turned back to Tony, a wide grin plastered across her face.

"Can I go next?" she asked hopefully, and DiNozzo shrugged.

"Go right ahead," he said, flourishing his hand wildly. She giggled slightly and then cleared her throat, sitting up straighter.

"All right," she said, beaming. "The weirdest place I have ever done it, would probably have to be … could I get a drum roll, please?" Tony obliged her, drumming loudly on the wood above his head. Jethro shot him a glare.

"McGee, smack DiNozzo for me," he said coolly. Tim looked at him uncertainly for a moment, before proceeding to hit Tony in the head.

"Boss! What did I do this time?!" DiNozzo demanded, rubbing the back of his head and wincing slightly in pain.

"Don't ever thump on my boat again, DiNozzo," Jethro said warningly. DiNozzo's mouth formed a small 'oh' of understanding, and then he resumed his drum roll, this time slapping his own thighs rather loudly and probably painfully.

"Take it away, Abs," he said, and she grinned.

"Thank you, Tony," she smirked. "Well, my weirdest place – although I have many of those, I assure you – was beside a bonfire in a church bell tower." There were loud gasps and snorts around the room at this confession, and Jen caught Jethro's eye, looking stunned. Once again he just shrugged and took another drink. She would get used to Abby soon enough, and until then, he would enjoy the show, he figured.

"Oh, so many questions, Abby!" Tony said, his tone almost pleading. Jethro rolled his eyes.

"Why was there a bonfire **inside** a church?" Ziva asked, looking severely puzzled. Jethro felt sorry for her – the poor girl probably thought it was some sort of crazy American custom to have bonfires in church.

"Oh, we were toasting marshmallows and cheese," Abby grinned.

"Cheese on marshmallows?" Jen asked, looking surprised.

"Well, we tried it, but it wasn't that great, so we just stuck to marshmallows, and we ate the cheese cubes on their own," Abby explained. Jethro shook his head, half-laughing to himself. Only Abby could come out with these things and talk about them as though they were perfectly routine.

"And the reason it was in a church bell tower?" McGee asked curiously. Abby shot him a sideways glance and bit her lip, trying not to laugh.

"My boyfriend was the priest's son," she said, grinning slyly. "I was over there for dinner and we wanted a bit of, um, privacy, after the meal, so we stole his dad's keys and went up there because I wanted to watch the sunset – you know, 'cause it's all pretty and stuff? Anyway, we thought it would be cool to toast marshmallows while we watched it, so we made a small fire – he was like a Boy Scout, so it was pretty safe, anyway. And, you know how it goes. Things heated up **fast**. Although the mood was kind of ruined when the bell-ringer came in the next morning …"

"You got **caught**?! Oh, I love this game," DiNozzo snickered, and Abby shrugged, still grinning unabashedly.

"We were all young once," she pointed out, and Ducky chuckled.

"I think you're still young, my dear," he said. She raised her eyebrows mischievously.

"How old exactly were you, Abs?" Tony pressed. Jethro brought a hand to his forehead, not sure he wanted to hear the answer to this.

"A couple of years shy of a driver's license," she replied, smirking.

"Fourteen?! You lost your virginity at **fourteen**?!" Jimmy gasped. Abby looked to the ceiling, trying harder than ever to conceal the telling grin on her face, and as usual, failing miserably to hide her true emotions.

"Sure, Jimmy," she said, snorting slightly. "If that's what you want to believe."

"I don't think any of us needs to know how many times Abby had disgraced herself before then," Jethro pointed out simply. "Who's next?"

"Hmm, choices, choices!" Tony practically cackled. "Who to pick, who to pick …? How about … our lovely Director?" Jethro's stomach tightened as Jen shot him an amused glance. He wasn't sure he could get through this without giving it away somehow.

"All right," Jen agreed amiably. "Fair's fair. Uh, let's see …"

"Would you like a drum roll, Director?" Tony asked with a grin. Jen half-laughed.

"Oh, I don't think I can quite compete with Abby," she responded, inclining her head slightly towards the young Goth. "No, uh … I don't know, how exactly are we defining 'weird' here, anyway?" Jethro felt his temperature rising slightly and chugged the rest of his beer in one go, hoping to fend off the blush he knew was coming.

"That sounds a little kinky, Director," Abby said, waggling her eyebrows. Jen smirked.

"Like you said, Abby, we were all young once."

"I didn't know you had it in you, Jenny," Ziva said, sounding surprised. Jen merely shrugged and put on her best innocent face.

"It's really not as bad as all that," she promised. "So, DiNozzo, how about a little clarity here? What exactly are the criteria for 'weird places'?"

"Oh, I am **very** intrigued," DiNozzo said, leering slightly. "Uh, anywhere public, anywhere forbidden, anywhere illegal …"

"How unhelpful," Jen said dryly, and Abby wolf-whistled. Ducky shot Jethro an amused glance, and he replied with a grimace. Ducky nodded understandingly, still chuckling slightly to himself.

"Come on, Jenny, let's hear it," Ziva pressed her, looking about as amused as Ducky. Jen sucked on her cheek for a moment before her face split into a grin.

"Would the office of the Director of NCIS count?" she asked. Jethro blanched, then tried to compose himself, hoping nobody would notice.

"Well, I'm impressed – you work fast – but most people have done it in their office at some point," Tony said with a half-smile, and Jen just looked at him.

"I meant **before** I became Director," she said, raising her eyebrows. DiNozzo choked on his beer, Ziva, McGee and Palmer all gaped at her silently, Abby clapped a hand over her mouth to disguise her surprised smile, and Ducky looked between her and Jethro, stunned. Jethro himself now wished he hadn't finished that beer, and contented himself with admiring the ceiling through the wooden beams, hoping nobody would notice how awkward he felt right now. His head swam with flashbacks …

_He was coming through the door, closing and locking it behind him … she was leaping from her chair into his arms … relief was coursing through his veins: he couldn't believe she was really alive … her lips were on his, begging for his love … he had her flat on the desk; she was arching into him … her breath was hot on his skin as he made love to her; desperate, passionate love …_

"Well, that …" DiNozzo cut into Jethro's thoughts, bringing him back to reality. The younger man, always ready with a quick quip, seemed for once to be struggling for words. "That would certainly count, I'd say … Abby, thoughts?"

"I think the Director's got a dark side," she smirked. "And it totally counts … if you dish the rest of the dirt, of course. When was this?!"

"Oh, a few years ago now," Jen said airily, waving her hand vaguely. Jethro knew exactly how long 'a few' meant, of course: six years and about two months. "I was waiting for the Director to come back from a press conference about a case I'd just closed off on, and the guy found me in there … well, the Director was going to be away for a while, and we had come very close to losing one another that day, so, I don't know, we were emotional. Things happen. I'm not condoning it – and none of you even dare to think about it now that it's my office, by the way – but, you know, everybody's human."

"Interesting," Tony said, looking at Jen with something that Jethro thought might be respect. "Very interesting … all right, well, I think the Director's made her point: she was certainly young once. Now, Ziva!"

"My story next?" Ziva asked, rolling her eyes, and Tony nodded, grinning devilishly. "All right, you can have my story, but in a moment. Gibbs, where is your bathroom?"

"Upstairs, down the hall off the living room, second door to the right," he instructed her. She nodded her appreciation and clambered, with some difficulty, to her feet, and excused herself for a moment. Gibbs also got to his feet, glad of the break.

"I'm going for more beer," he explained. "Anybody else want one?" Hands shot into the air, and he counted quickly. Everyone except Palmer, who was apparently driving home later. He just assumed Ziva would like another one, and ascended the stairs quickly, relieved to get out of the crowd for a few seconds. He was enjoying himself secretly, more than he'd ever let on, but he still needed his breathing space.

"Jethro?" He took a deep breath before turning away from the open fridge door.

"Yeah?"

"You look flushed. Did I embarrass you?"

"Hardly," he said dryly, turning back to the cool air and beginning to remove bottles. A moment later she was at his side, taking them from his arms. He just looked at her for a moment, and she looked right back, unblinking. He shrugged and began passing them to her, making it easier to carry seven bottles in one trip.

"So, what's my payback going to be then?" Jen asked, taking bottle number four from him.

"We'll see."

"Are you going to tell them that your weird place is the same as mine?"

"That would only cause trouble for us both, Jen," he said, removing the last of the bottles and closing the door. He leant against it, watching her for a second.

"I agree," she said, nodding. "And you know what they say – what happens in Europe stays in Europe. Right?"

"So you don't want me to share any of those stories either," he surmised. She smirked.

"Well, as much as I enjoy reminiscing with you, Jethro, and as much as I'm sure everyone would love to hear about the Spanish farmers' market –"

"Appropriate as ever, you are," he joked.

"Well, exactly. I don't think it's something we ought to discuss in front of anyone else, particularly not when they know we worked together in Europe. The Director's office was different – that could have been any number of NCIS agents."

"Oh, really?" She rolled her eyes.

"**Theoretically**," she added, "yes, it could. But I don't think we want DiNozzo knowing any more detail than is necessary about our undercover work – and I use the term 'undercover' for a reason, before you say anything."

"Point well taken, Jen," he said, lowering his voice as Ziva approached them. She gave them a small smile, looking slightly bemused to see them so close, having what could be perceived as an argument, and continued downstairs again. Jethro glanced back at Jen and indicated with his head that they should follow.

"Free pass?" she asked him quietly, and he nodded.

"You use yours carefully," he warned. She half-laughed and returned his brief nod before leading the way back into the darkened basement. They passed out drinks, which were accepted gratefully, before resuming their places alongside one another. Once everybody's bottles had been opened and they all seemed to be relaxed again, Tony cleared his throat and turned back to Ziva.

"So, Officer David," he said in a pompous voice, "the time has come. No lies and no excuses – tell us your story, if you please."

"All right, Tony," she shot back, half-smiling. "I think the strangest place I can think of right now, would have to be on a bucking horse."

"You, uh, you mean a rocking horse?" McGee offered helpfully, and she frowned.

"No," she said, shaking her head slightly. "The mechanical horse that tries to knock you off, the bucking horse."

"Bucking bronco," Tony supplied. She shot him a look that Jethro was sure she had learned from her time working together with Jen … and that Jen had learned from him. It seemed to lose something in the passing, however.

"Yes, that is what I mean," Ziva agreed. "Bucking bronco."

"Wait – you did it on a bucking bronco? How?" It disturbed Jethro ever so slightly how Abby was more curious about than disturbed by this information.

"Where?" Tony asked, his eyes lighting up. Ziva threw him a dirty look.

"My boyfriend worked in a bar in England," she explained. "I met him when I was working there, and I wanted to enjoy having some freedom, so he took me to lots of places we don't have in my country. One night I was meeting him after work and he had to lock up, and he let me have a shot on the bucking bronco. Then he suggested it might be fun to try it together, so we did, and we were good at it. I think you know the rest."

"I'd love to know more," DiNozzo grinned, and Ziva glared at him. She caught Jethro's eye, and he jerked his head in assent.

"Ouch!! Boss!"

"Quit being an ass, DiNozzo, and I'll stop telling them all to hit you," Jethro reasoned. Jen sniggered in a rather unladylike fashion into her beer, and he shot her a surprised look. She just smiled back at him.

"All right, all right, I'll let it go – for now," Tony said ominously. "And now I think we'll hear from the good doctor! Ducky?"

"Oh, must I, Anthony?" Ducky asked long-sufferingly. Tony merely smirked.

"Yup," he said simply.

"Oh, all right, all right," Ducky sighed. "If you must know, it was when I was a much younger man. I had only recently graduated from the University of Edinburgh Medical College, and I remember I had just secured my first job as an assistant to the renowned pathologist Dr Melrose, working out of a small private hospital outside Cambridge."

"Is this a male or a female doctor?" Jen cut in, a playful glint in her eye.

"Male, thank you very much, Jennifer, and try to get your mind out of the gutter," he said, rolling his eyes. "We already have Tony for that. No, Dr Melrose was very much male, I can assure you. His daughter, however …"

"Go Ducky," Abby teased. "So where'd you two get it on?"

"Abigail, please! It is a sacred act between a man and a woman, you know, not something to be ridiculed and gossiped about, and –"

"Somewhere bad, then," Tony said, shrugging, and Abby nodded her agreement.

"Oh, you are hopeless," Ducky said despairingly. "Well, all right, if you must know, she came to visit her father one day during his lunch hour. I thought it would be only gentlemanly to keep her company while she waited. Of course, when I set out to do the noble thing, I didn't realise that Marie was quite the young scoundrel. I had a very difficult job of it, you know, trying to clean the autopsy table before her father returned."

"You did it with your boss' daughter on his autopsy table?" Jimmy gasped. McGee looked physically sick, Jethro thought, while everyone else seemed amused. He had heard this story before, of course, but decided not to mention that fact.

"Yes indeed, Mr Palmer," Ducky confirmed. "And don't you go getting any ideas!"

"Yeah, Jimbo, stick to the bathrooms. The living appreciate human needs, but the dead need some respect," Tony said, laughing merrily. Ducky shot him a contemptuous glare and DiNozzo clamped his mouth shut, seeming to sense danger ahead.

"Well, I'm sufficiently impressed," Abby announced. "Although the two I was most interested in hearing are the only two we haven't heard yet."

"Oh, well, I'll put you out of your misery, then," Tony smirked. "My turn. I can top autopsy tables, bathrooms and tile warehouses easily. Bucking bronco, I can't quite beat for stamina, but strangeness, I can do. Bonfire in a church, I personally find rather creepy, Abs, but that's just me. The Director's office I'm a little iffy about – I mean, I don't think our current Director would be too happy if I were to try to match that …"

"Not if you value your life, DiNozzo," Jethro cut in sharply before Jen could comment, and Tony winced.

"Right boss. Moving on. My story is about a young man and a young woman, innocent and carefree, helpless in the power of love …"

"Get a move on, DiNozzo!" Yet again, seven pairs of eyes turned towards the Director, who merely shrugged. "What?" she asked. "I **did** learn everything I know from Jethro."

"Fair enough, boss-lady," Tony acknowledged, laughing far too much at his own joke. Jethro fixed him with a look, but being DiNozzo, he just kept going. "Get it? Get it, boss? Boss-man; boss-lady? You, uh … you don't think that's funny, do you?"

"Not even a little bit, DiNozzo," Jethro assured him, never once raising his voice. He actually didn't give a damn what DiNozzo called Jen, but he enjoyed this part of it far too much to admit that.

"Right. Sorry. Anyway, she was one of my girlfriends in college, and we were just your typical teen couple – I was a jock, she was a cheerleader: we were the perfect match."

"I think I'm going to be sick," Ziva said sarcastically. Tony growled at her before continuing as though she hadn't spoken. Personally, Jethro was inclined to agree with Ziva.

"She was beautiful," Tony said, sighing reminiscently. "Blonde hair, big blue eyes, killer smile … ah, Tracey. We had a big barbecue at the side of the college pool one night to celebrate the swim team doing well in some cup or other, and …"

"Skinny-dipping?!" Abby asked, looking almost disappointed. "Tony! I expected something at least a little original from you! Anyone in here who **hasn't** skinny-dipped, raise your hand now." Ducky, McGee and Palmer all raised their hands. Nobody was surprised to see that Abby's and Tony's stayed firmly down, and Ziva could have gone either way, as far as Jethro was concerned. It was no surprise to him, therefore, when all eyes turned on Jen and him, staring openly at them.

"Boss, **you've** been skinny-dipping?" McGee asked, sounding stunned.

"I have," Jethro said simply, taking another drink. He wasn't in any rush to elaborate, and he knew they wouldn't dare push him.

"Well, as interesting a revelation as that was," Tony commented, shooting a sly glance towards Jen – probably trying to picture it, the prat, Jethro thought viciously – "I wasn't going to say we went skinny-dipping."

"Oh!" Abby straightened once again, grinning. "My apologies, Tony: do continue."

"Thank you." Tony gave a feeble imitation of a royal wave before carrying on with his story. "Well, there's not a whole lot more to tell, really – there was food, drink, music, and we were the last ones left by the pool. There was one of those inflatable lilo things floating in it – come to think of it, there was also a cauliflower … anyway, we had always wanted to try it on a waterbed, and this was the next best thing."

"You are a creep," Ziva said decisively. Everyone looked at her, and she did a double take. "What?" she asked. "It's the wrong word?"

"No, 'creep' just about sums Tony up," McGee put in. DiNozzo glowered and threw a handful of beer nuts at Tim. Jethro frowned slightly – where had the beer nuts appeared from? He was pretty sure he didn't have any of those in the house. In fact, he was one hundred percent positive of it.

"All right, Gibbs, your turn!" Abby proclaimed, her face alight with excitement.

"Yeah, boss, tell us about your skinny-dipping experience," DiNozzo joked. Jethro raised his eyebrows mildly, deciding for once not to get angry, and sat back, trying to get comfortable. Jen caught his eye, her expression clearly telling him to take the Fifth, and then he smirked slightly. She was right – she **did** deserve payback.

"I've got a better one," he said coolly. Everyone gaped at him, appearing shocked, and Jen flushed bright red. He began to grin, enjoying himself. "Farmers' market, smack in the middle of Madrid, on top of a fresh fruit stall."

"WHAT?!" Tony and Abby both cried out at the same time, their eyes wide. McGee and Palmer both gave very convincing impressions of goldfish, while Ziva and Ducky just sat with their mouths closed, appearing lost for words. Jen, on the other hand, made a point of looking anywhere but in anybody's eye, and Jethro could see her taking deep, supposed-to-be-calming breaths.

"You're kidding, right?" said Palmer. Jethro shot him a look.

"Do I look like I'm kidding, Palmer?" he asked, his tone low and even. The anxious little man gulped slightly and bit his lip.

"No, sir," he practically squeaked.

"So what are the details, then?!" Abby demanded, apparently having regained some sort of thought process. "How did that come about? How did you not get caught? Or did you?! Who was she, Gibbs?!"

"Just a woman," he shrugged, keeping his answers vague. "And no, we didn't get caught. I don't get caught, Abs."

"You say that like it's happened more than once," she retorted, and he half-smirked.

"Who says it hasn't?" he challenged. DiNozzo let out a low whistle.

"Wow, boss, it looks like there's more to you than just head-slapping and divorces!" he commented. Jethro scowled at him, and the younger man cringed. "I mean, of course, we always knew there was more to you than that – I've always thought highly of you, boss, you know that, right? But, uh, what I mean is, uh …"

"You're quite the dark horse, Gibbs," Abby chimed in, coming to Tony's rescue swiftly. Shame really, Jethro thought. He rather enjoyed watching DiNozzo squirm.

"Yeah, well, that's that, isn't it?" he said brusquely. "All done."

"Don't think we're going to forget about that one," Tony said, grinning like the cat that had got the cream. "But we'll let you off the hook for now. Which means someone else gets to ask the question this time! Anybody think they can top that?"

"Do you even have to ask?"

**A/N2:** I wanted who was going first to be a surprise, but now I'm going to tell you a chapter in advance who's next, so that if you have any ideas you get a chance to submit them before the chapter starts! Chapter 3 is going to be Abby's question, so get those suggestions rolling in, people! If I use your ideas you get a dedication ;) Anyway, please let me know what you thought – most of the fics I write are much more intense, so I'm hoping I'm doing okay with this slightly different style … anyway, big loves for ALL my reviewers: Morbid Mandy, barbeques hamster, Loopy4Tibbs, Bex, TroubleTrouble, Lost in Romance, aserene, Aqua Mage, sarah MacKenzie, MissJayne, Caf Pow, Cali aka Eternal Optimist, M E Wofford, x0NCISx0, Terry Gibbs, Jennyngibbsbelong2getha, xoxEllexox, Dances With Passion, Paige Fan, dragon-flye, Ant1984, Anne beltman, InfinityMissingReason, crazy-prune, and T'Kath - y'all are amazing! :D

Notes:

InfinityMissingReason – it's the kind of thing I always think about and never write, but when this scenario popped into my head it was just begging to be written, and who am I to stand in the way of that? :P

xoxEllexox: Tiva may or may not come up – I like the chemistry between them but have never written them as a couple so I'll probably do some minor 'moments' and see where it goes from there :)

MissJayne – it's looking more and more like definite Jibbs lol!

Aqua Mage – you make a fair point about Ziva, but she is trained to spy and kill. Of course she still has feelings, but my theory is that she's able to overcome them to save face, as she's very keen to keep her part in Ari's death a secret anyway. Perhaps it might be slightly AU, but hey, that's why it's fiction, right? :P I hadn't considered your point before, though, so thanks for drawing my attention to it! :)

Keep reading and let me know your opinions :)

Muchos love,

Alison xxx


	3. Abby, you are a strange woman

**Title:** Getting To Know You  
**Author:** CruorLuna (Alison)  
**Rating:** T, for now. May change later!  
**Category:** NCIS: Naval Criminal Investigative Service  
**Genre:** Humour, slight romance  
**Pairings:** Lots of innuendo for Jibbs, and a few 'blink and you'll miss them' moments for McAbby and Tiva as well, but nothing concrete as yet. Don't be surprised if it gets romantic in later chapters though.  
**Characters:** Gibbs, Jen, Tony, Ziva, Abby, McGee, Ducky, Jimmy  
**Summary:** Abby wants the team to spend some 'quality time' together. Abby being Abby, this results in the investigators and co playing a truth telling game in Gibbs' basement. The past will be revealed, truths told, and surprises are in store for everyone concerned.

**Disclaimer:** Usual drill. Don't own anything recognisable from the show. I mean, uh, what show? O.O

**Dedication:** This chapter goes to Caf Pow, whose idea I thought was excellent. Ideas similar to that had crossed my mind, but I didn't give them any real thought until she made the suggestion, so it's all for her! Thanks loads, and I hope I did your idea justice :) And Abby's pouting scene goes to Megean - I couldn't resist! :P

**A/N:** Thanks loads to all my reviewers, you guys rock!! Thanks and replies are at the end, same as before. And this chapter is much longer than I intended, so I apologise for the drabble! Not going to bore you with my rambles this time (except the fic, which I guess IS me rambling lol) so just sit back, relax, and enjoy! And let me know what you think :)

* * *

"Abs, I am not answering that," Jethro said firmly. "Free pass."

"Oh, come on, Gibbs!" she pouted. "I could have asked so much worse! I picked something low-key so that you might actually answer it!"

"Low-key?" he scoffed.

"I don't think anybody's going to answer that question, Abby," McGee said in a calming voice. "Maybe pick another one?"

"What's wrong with my question?!"

"I may be wrong, being new here, but I don't think it's considered socially acceptable to ask people about their most-used sexual position," Ziva said dryly. Abby shot her a glare, her underlying dislike for the new girl seeming to flare up again.

"Fine," she snarled. "I'll pick something else. Uh, let's see … all right, you all have to answer this one, though! Seeing as how nobody would answer my first one."

"Depends what it is," Tony said jokingly.

"Show us your most embarrassing bodywork," Abby grinned. "Tattoos, piercings, scars, birthmarks … everyone has **something** in that area! And I want to hear the stories behind them. Time for show and tell, boys and girls."

"Abby, you are a strange woman," Tony commented.

"Thank you, Tony," she said with a smile. "And, since he as good as dodged the last question without even using a free pass, I pick Gibbs to start."

"Gee, thanks, Abs," Jethro said sarcastically. He mulled over the possibilities in his mind. There were his old Marine tattoos, of course, but those were hardly embarrassing. He certainly didn't have any piercings, and his only birthmark was on his left shoulder, and barely even counted. Scars were another matter entirely, of course. But he wasn't sure how comfortable he felt being questioned about his time in the Corps. There were some stories better left untold.

"What about that gunshot scar from Positano?" Jen interjected, smirking broadly. He glared at her ungratefully – she **would** have to bring that up. She had never let him live that incident down, although that had had less to do with the gunshot and more to do with the more … intimate, side of things.

"Is it embarrassing?" Abby demanded immediately. Jethro considered lying and finding something he could pass off as more interesting, but Jen spoke before he had a chance to finish his thought.

"Extremely," she confirmed, clearly enjoying herself more than he thought was really necessary. "Come on, Jethro. What are you waiting for?"

"You to find something better to do than embarrass me," he said wryly, and she laughed.

"But I'm so good at it," she teased him. He glanced away from her for a moment and caught Ziva watching them, a slight smile on her face and a knowing glint in her eye. Well that was just great. All he needed was for Ziva to know about his relationship with Jen. That wasn't going to make things at **all** awkward.

"All right, well, share, boss!" Tony grinned, and Jethro shot Jen a withering look.

"Fine," he said, gritting his teeth slightly. He turned slightly and tugged sharply at his t-shirt, yanking it over his head. Shooting a quick gaze in Jen's direction confirmed that she was avoiding looking at his naked torso. He then hooked his thumb into the waistband of his jeans at his right hip and pulled it down slightly, revealing the mark permanently etched into his skin. Not meeting anyone's eye, he heard rather than saw their reactions. Ducky sighed quietly, obviously realising what the position of the scar meant. Ziva and Abby both inhaled sharply, and McGee, Palmer and DiNozzo all remained silent. Jen didn't react, but Jethro suspected that was because she was still doing all she could to dodge looking at him.

"What happened, Gibbs?" Abby asked, her voice hushed. He knew the scar made the wound look as though it had been much worse than it really was, because it was often reddened by the seams of his trousers rubbing against it. It never really hurt him any more, but it always had the appearance of being a big problem for him.

"Yeah, boss, that looks painful," Tony said, sounding more serious than was his wont.

"It's not," Jethro said shortly, letting his trousers slide back into place and replacing his top now that they'd all had a good look. "It looks worse than it is."

"How did it happen, Jethro?" Ducky queried, his head cocked to one side.

"Stupid accident," he grunted. "Got distracted by something behind me, turned my back on a suspect for a split-second, and he got one off at me." He caught Jen's eye and saw her cheeks redden as it registered that he had actually turned around because he had thought she was in danger.

"Wow," Palmer said, looking impressed. "Did it hurt?"

"I guess."

"You guess?!" Apparently Jen had overcome her moment of embarrassment, as she let out an amused snort and shot him a look over her beer. "You were laid up in hospital for five days with that, and then you couldn't leave the apartment for another fortnight."

"That wasn't because it hurt, Jen, that was because I couldn't walk," he shot back.

"So, it sucks, Gibbs, but I don't see what's embarrassing about that," Abby said, looking between the two of them confusedly. Jethro looked pointedly at the ceiling.

"Look at the wound tract. The gun was fired from above, Abby," Jen said, half-laughing.

"No way!" McGee gasped.

"Boss, you took a bullet in the butt?" DiNozzo asked, looking as though he was struggling not to burst out in hysterics. Jethro didn't answer, but they seemed to take his silence as confirmation, and Tony, Ziva and Abby all went into fits.

"Thanks a lot, Jen," he muttered to her, annoyed that she still seemed to be stifling a laugh herself.

"You're more than welcome," she snickered.

"Oh, that **is** embarrassing!" Abby grinned. "But, I do thank you for sharing, Gibbs – I'm glad you're getting into the spirit of the game!"

"Being coerced is more like it," he said, rolling his eyes.

"You used to say that was what made me good," Jen retorted. "It's part of the reason I survived Gibbs Boot Camp."

"Only just, mind you," Jethro assured her. "And damn lucky to do so. It's been a long time since I took on somebody who failed Autopsy."

"How do you fail Autopsy?" Palmer asked, looking bemused. Jen shot Jethro a warning look, clearly asking him with her eyes not to repeat that story, but he didn't really care. They were off the job, and she had it coming.

"You throw up," he said, smirking in her direction.

"It's not easy!" she said defensively. "And even harder when your **mentor** is standing over your shoulder telling you exactly how you would dissect each individual organ and trying to make you picture the cadaver as your best friend!" Jethro let out a chuckle, having forgotten that minor detail, and DiNozzo joined in.

"That's brilliant, boss," he said appreciatively. Jethro raised his beer bottle, indicating Tony with it as he met Jen's gaze.

"He thinks I'm funny," he pointed out.

"He would," Jen returned snidely, but the corners of her mouth were turned up, despite her best efforts to keep a straight face. Ziva and Abby both laughed aloud, and Jen raised one eyebrow, clearly pleased with herself. Jethro merely looked at her.

"Hey, Abs," he said, turning to the young Goth. "You want to hear about Jen's tattoo next?" That certainly wiped the smirk off her face, as her mouth dropped open and she stared at him in disbelief. Her face clearly asked, _how dare you_? He just shrugged at her, schooling his features into his best innocent expression. _What_? he asked her with his eyes. She glowered at him, clearly angry to have been beaten at her own game.

"You bet I do!" Abby exclaimed, looking as though Christmas had come early. Jen ducked her head, but not before Jethro had seen the blush crossing her cheeks. "I choose the Director to answer next – and remember, no free passes allowed."

"Look, it – it's not that big a deal, all right?" Jen said, half-laughing embarrassedly. "I got it a few years ago, and now I rather wish I hadn't bothered, if certain people are going to use it against me. It's not even really embarrassing, it's just a tattoo."

"If it's not embarrassing, then it shouldn't be a problem," DiNozzo said slyly, and Jen rolled her eyes, knowing she was caught.

"All right, fine," she conceded. "Ziva, can you help me with this?" The other woman crawled with some difficulty across the small space between them and, following Jen's directions, pulled down on the shoulder of her t-shirt at the back. Jethro looked pointedly away from the sight of her exposed bra strap, and felt an inexplicable stab of annoyance when he caught Tony looking at it. Ziva let out a soft gasp as she tugged at the material and the ink was revealed.

"Jenny, it's lovely!" she exclaimed. "When did you get this?"

"Uh, about seven years ago," Jen said, half smiling. Ziva moved backwards, holding the neck of Jenny's top in place, to let the others get a look. Jethro felt his chest constrict slightly as he caught a brief glimpse of the branding, the one she had always teased him about making her his forever. It was an orchid, small and subtle, in pastel inks, and around the stem were two entwined 'J's. She had gotten it not long after they had started dating, and claimed she had actually asked for one J, for her own name, but it had been a French tattoo artist and he had misunderstood. He wasn't sure whether it really was a mistake or not, but had known better than to push her on it. Jen had always joked about it, saying it was a sign, but it had meant something to him. He still remembered the day she had gotten it as if it were yesterday.

_She was pulling her shirt over her head, grinning at the look on his face … his fingers were lightly tracing the slightly inflamed skin … he was staring at the two entwined initials, his eyes drawn to them … he was placing light butterfly kisses to it, whispering against her skin … __**mine**__, he was murmuring as he kissed the sore spot tenderly, __**all mine**__ … she was turning in his arms, bringing his lips down to meet her own … __**yours**__, she was saying against his lips as she kissed him back … __**forever**__ …_

Had he known then that 'forever' was going to end so soon, he would have been more careful with his emotions, he thought now. But she had been his, all his, for that brief time, and meeting her eyes now, he could almost taste her skin against his lips again. Her gaze bore into him, more intense than he had felt it for what felt like forever, and then she seemed to catch herself staring at him and looked away quickly.

"Have we all had a good enough gawk yet?" she asked, her tone sarcastic but light. There was a murmur of assent around the room and Ziva let go of her, making her way carefully back to her own position. Jen straightened her neckline with a slight smile, looking a little uncomfortable to have everyone in the room staring at her.

"So why an orchid?" McGee asked her thoughtfully. "What made you decide to take the plunge and get it?"

"Yes, I never really saw you as the body-art type, I confess, Jennifer," Ducky said with a small chuckle. Jethro had the uncomfortable sensation that Ducky had seen more in the tattoo than just the flower.

"God, Ducky, even my mother stopped calling me Jennifer when I was about four," Jen said, laughing. "You're the only person who I've ever let away with it."

"That much is true," Jethro commented dryly. "I remember one time Stan called her that by mistake, and she –"

"Hey!" Jen cut in sharply. "I don't think that's a story we have to share."

"Ooh, I want to know more," Abby grinned. "Gibbs?"

"Let's just say our new Director is a lot more creative with a rope than many Marines I've met," Jethro said cryptically. Eyebrows rose all around the room, and Jen buried her head in her hands, trying to hide her red face whilst laughing.

"Well that's a story we should definitely go back to, Jenny," Ziva said with a smirk.

"Keep talking, Ziva, and I'll start telling stories from Cairo," Jenny bit back instantly. Ziva's smile fell slightly and she mimed zipping her mouth shut. Jethro wondered briefly what exactly Jen had got up to there, but knew he had no right to ask. It was none of his business how she spent her free time after they broke up, and even now.

"So, Director, back to the tattoo," Abby pressed. "Why the orchid?" Jen shrugged.

"My favourite flower," she said simply. "I've always loved them. I think there's something romantic about orchids, without being overstated. Roses are lovely, and I'm not one to scoff at flowers in general, but I always had a soft spot for the man who would bring me orchids. And as for why I got it, I honestly can't explain it. It was a bit of a whim at first, and I never planned to act on it, but … well, things happen when you're in a foreign country. Your perspective changes. It was very spur-of-the-moment, but I'm glad I did it when I did. It was worth it, and I can always hide it if I need to."

"Well, I think it's incredibly brave," Palmer said. "Getting something like that, knowing you're going to have it for life … I don't think I'd have the guts to do it."

"You should have a night out on the town with me, Jimmy," Abby said with a glint in her eye that Jethro knew all too well. "We'd soon loosen up those nerves of yours. But I do think it's seriously cool that you've got it, Madam Director."

"Don't call me madam," Jen said instantly. "It's Director or ma'am."

"You're not in the office anymore, Jen," Jethro pointed out. "Is it really so difficult to be known by your name?" She shot him a look that he couldn't quite read and then cleared her throat quietly.

"Of course, if you'd prefer, Jenny's fine," she added. "Just not madam. Anything but that."

"Sorry, ma'am," Abby said. "Can't quite bring myself to do it, I'm afraid. And thank you for sharing. Anybody want to volunteer to go next?"

"How about you, Abs?" Tony challenged. "We all know you're going to top us all anyway."

"Not necessarily," she shot back at him. "That's the point of the game, Tony. Finding out things you didn't know about people; being surprised. But I will go next if you like, and then I can just sit back and enjoy the rest of squirming."

"I can hardly wait," Ziva said, rolling her eyes, and Abby shot her an irritated glance. She looked as though she was about to make a snappy retort, but Jethro caught her eye and shook his head slightly. He knew things between the two women were strained at best, and he didn't want there to be a scene tonight. Abby half-sighed but nodded slightly, before clearing her throat.

"All right, well, I can't really think of a 'most embarrassing' one, because I'm not embarrassed of any of my tats or piercings," she said, shrugging. "But I guess I could let you see one that most of you have probably never seen."

"Where is it, exactly?" Ducky asked, looking apprehensive.

"Nowhere you wouldn't want to look," she assured him. She uncrossed her legs and hiked her already short skirt up even higher, causing Palmer, McGee, Ducky and Jethro to look away. She just rolled her eyes as she pulled down her black fishnets from the top to show them the inking at the top of her thigh.

"What does that say?" Jen asked, squinting slightly.

"It says 'Omen'," Abby said, smiling proudly. "I was dating this drummer about five years ago, and Omen was his stage name."

"Wow, you guys must have been pretty serious," DiNozzo said, leaning closer to inspect the artwork. He tilted his head slightly and a small frown crossed his face. "Abs, is that a knife next to his name?"

"It's a dagger, actually," she corrected with a grin, pulling her skirt back into its proper position. "He thought it was sexy. But we only dated for a few months – I got it done about three weeks before we split, but I didn't really care, 'cause it looks really cool, and it doesn't have to stand for his name. Pretty wild, huh?"

"That's one word for it," Jethro muttered. "I'm going to dig out some more potato chips. Anybody want anything?"

"I could use another beer, boss," Tony said, and Jethro nodded. Jen clambered to her feet alongside him.

"I'm going to use the bathroom," she said. Jethro just nodded and gestured for her to lead the way, and he heard Abby grumbling as they left the room. He just laughed to himself as they reached the ground floor landing, and Jen shot him a slightly quizzical glance over her shoulder as she walked away. He grabbed a few beers from the fridge and sat them on the counter, before opening a few cupboards in search of something to eat. He had just managed to locate a bag of chips on the top shelf when he felt her presence behind him again.

"We have to stop meeting like this," he commented, and he heard her laugh quietly.

"Need a hand?" she asked, moving closer as he reached for a stool. His top shelves were too high even for him to reach without a little aid.

"Nope," he said, shooting her a look and a smirk, intended to mean _you're smaller than I am_. She seemed to catch his meaning and just rolled her eyes, sticking her foot in front of the stool and blocking his path.

"Those things are a hazard," she said. "Come on, give me a boost."

"Jen, I am not going to –"

"Well it's either that or you fall and break your neck, isn't it?" she cut him off firmly. "For someone who spends as much time building as you do, you really should look at fixing up some of this old furniture."

"How often do you really think I use it?" he pointed out, bending down and clasping his hands in front of him. She braced herself on the counter with one hand, placing her foot in his hands.

"Unless you've done a total one-eighty, then somewhere in the range of never," she admitted. "You ready?"

"Yup." She pushed up on the counter, hoisting herself into his hands, wobbling slightly as she brought her other foot up from the ground. She steadied herself, and when he was sure she wasn't going to fall, he straightened up carefully. He was surprised to find she still weighed next to nothing. She had always been slim, but never worryingly so, and she had always had curves in just the right places, but yet she was light as a feather. She grabbed the bag of potato chips in one hand and a package of Oreos in the other, tossing them onto the island unit over his shoulder.

"Okay?" she asked him, holding onto the shelf inside the cupboard for support, and he nodded.

"Ready," he said. She returned his brief nod, and he heard her take a breath before she let go and allowed herself to drop smoothly into his arms, as he shifted his grip from her feet and grabbed her around the waist, catching her before she hit the ground. Her hands landed on his shoulders, bracing herself against a fall that never came, and he felt her stiffen in his arms. Their eyes met for a brief moment, wrapped in one another's arms, and he felt a tremor run through her.

"Jethro …" she said softly. He didn't answer at first, losing himself in her eyes once more. The raw emotion shining through caught him completely off-guard, and thoughts of how he'd missed her flew through his mind as they looked at each other. "Jethro," she said again, tearing her eyes from his. "I thought we agreed not to make this difficult." And the moment was broken. He loosened his hold on her, allowing her to take a step backwards, out of his arms, and looked at her.

"And I thought there wasn't going to be any 'off the job,' Jen," he replied. "You still haven't told me why you're really here tonight."

"I did tell you," she defended herself, but he scoffed.

"No, you fed me a party line, Jen," he said. "And you know I've never swallowed those over easily. You're here for a reason, and I don't think it's too much to ask to want to know what that is."

"I just … being Director is a huge step for me, Jethro," Jen said, and he had the impression that she was choosing her words carefully. "I've had to prove myself a thousand times over to get where I am, but I've done it, and I'm happy. I'm where I wanted to get. But sometimes it can get lonely at the top." That surprised him. He looked at her sideways, and he saw only truth in her eyes.

"You saying you wish you were still a field agent, Jen?"

"No," she said, rolling her eyes. "Like I said, I wanted this, and I still do want it. I don't want to be back in the field, but I do like feeling like part of a team."

"You're the Director, not one of the team."

"And I don't see why the two have to be mutually exclusive," she said sharply. "You're their boss, but they see you as one of them. You'd deny me the same?"

"It's not up to me to grant or deny, Jen," Jethro said simply. "It's all them and you."

"I could use your support on this, Jethro," she said quietly. "You know they'll follow you in whatever you do, Ziva excluded, maybe. If you treat me like I'm just another politician, they're going to view me as that." He sucked on the inside of his cheek for a moment.

"I don't think you were ever going to be 'just another politician' to me, Jen," he finally said quietly. "You were damn good at whatever you did, and politics was just another thing you excelled at. It was never the only thing, and I think they know that. Tonight's probably helping them to see you as more of a person and less of a politician."

"Because of course those **are** mutually exclusive, right?" she joked, and he laughed.

"Something like that," he agreed. "But you know that already. That's why you're here tonight, after all, isn't it?"

"I suppose it is," she said, and he nodded slightly.

"You don't need my advice any more, Jen," he said. "You're the Director of a Federal Agency. If you don't trust in your own choices then we're all in trouble." She looked surprised for a moment, but just as she opened her mouth to reply, they were interrupted.

"Guys!" They turned towards the door to the basement and found Abby's head sticking around it, looking annoyed. "Come on," she said, her tone almost whiny. "You're taking forever, and I want to see Ziva's piercing!" She disappeared downstairs again, and Jethro caught Jen's eye for a moment.

"Ziva has a piercing?" he queried, surprised, and she laughed a little.

"Apparently," she replied, picking up a couple of beers. "Shall we?"

"After you." She smiled and went on ahead of him, and he followed with the remaining beer and the food, trying hard not to get distracted by the way her hips swung gently from side to side as she walked. They settled themselves inside the framework again, passing out the goods, and Abby cleared her throat loudly.

"Can we continue now?" she asked, pouting slightly.

"Sure, Abs," Jethro agreed. She smiled a little.

"I want to make a new rule," she announced, and there were a few groans around the room.

"Abby, we are not getting rid of free passes," McGee sighed, and his exasperated tone made Jethro suspect that this was a conversation they had already had while he and Jen were upstairs.

"No, not that one," she said. "Although I wish we would. No, the new rule is that if you need to use the bathroom, refill your drinks or anything else, do it in between questions. I'm too impatient to sit here and wait for answers while Gibbs and the Director practise their acrobatics." All eyes in the room turned on Jethro and Jen then, and they exchanged amused but slightly awkward glances.

"Just how long were you standing up there, Abs?" Jethro asked with a laugh. She glanced between him and Jen for a moment, before signing to him across the room.

'**Long enough to see you getting up close and personal**.' He shot Jen a look, and she smirked in his direction, clearly amused. He didn't know how to warn Abby that Jen also knew sign language without giving away that there was something to hide.

'**It wasn't how it probably looked**,' he signed back, and Abby grinned devilishly.

'**Come on, Gibbs**,' she retorted, sticking her tongue out. '**You may have been trying to play the gentleman, but you were enjoying that way more than you should**.'

"It's rude to talk with your hands, you know!" DiNozzo called out loudly, trying to get them to stop.

"I agree," Jen said, looking between Jethro and Abby with a smirk. '**Especially**,' she added with her hands, '**when anybody could see you at it and take what you're saying the wrong way**.' Jethro couldn't help but grin to himself as he saw Abby's eyes widen and her grin falter slightly. He knew Jen was only joking around.

"Sorry, Director," Abby said hurriedly. "I didn't mean –"

"Oh, don't worry, I know," Jen laughed. '**I'm well aware of what Jethro was thinking**.'

"Hey!" he protested. "Sitting right here, you know."

"Sorry, Gibbs," Abby grinned, looking at Jen with what Jethro recognised as a new respect, and he was glad. Jen had made a fortunate ally. "Consider the subject dropped. Now, while you two were … upstairs, I picked Ziva to go next, and she volunteered to show us her secret piercing."

"Yeah, Ziva, let's see it," Tony said, making a suggestive face. Ziva shot a dark look in his direction before clearing her throat.

"Well, I did get a piercing about a year ago," she confessed, looking strangely guilty. "I have never shown anybody except my partners before now, because it is, uh, frowned upon, in Mossad. Our jobs require a certain reputation, and we are expected to be very discreet in every aspect of our lives."

"So does that mean it's illegal?" Palmer asked, his face a picture of surprise. Ziva glanced at him, looking as though she wanted to make a derisive comment, but restrained herself.

"Not illegal," she clarified. "Just not expectable."

"Acceptable," McGee supplied in an undertone.

"Yes, that was what I meant, thank you, Agent McGee," Ziva nodded.

"Less talk, people!" Tony interrupted, clapping his hands together. "Let's all have a look at Ziva's big bad body jewellery."

"Yeah, where is it?" Abby chimed in, looking curious. Ziva smiled, looking, for the first time since Jethro had met her, a little self-conscious. She rolled up her long top a little, and for a fleeting moment he had the disturbing thought that it was going to be a pierced nipple, but his fears were soon allayed. She hiked her shirt to just above her navel, where glinted a silver belly ring studded with what looked like emeralds.

"It may not look like much," Ziva said quickly, defending herself, "but in my country, if they knew, I could be …"

"Keelhauled," Jenny finished for her. Jethro shot her a mildly amused glance, despite knowing full well that she wasn't kidding. It wouldn't be pleasant for Ziva, certainly, but just the thought of the situation made him smile. Tony, McGee, Abby, Ducky and Palmer all grimaced slightly at the thought, and Ziva shot Jen a grateful smile.

"I'm not entirely sure what that means, but I thank you, Jenny," she said. "It sounds like something they would do to me. Yes, there are lots of rules against these things, and my Deputy Director is especially strict."

"What's it shaped like?" Abby asked, craning her neck to get a better look.

"A clover," Ziva said. "It seems crazy, I know, but I felt too guilty to have the Star of David, and I thought it might bring me luck."

"I think it's sexy," Tony said, and Ziva gave him a strange look.

"Thank you, Tony," she said, looking suspicious. He merely smiled back, and Jethro fought back a smirk. It seemed that Tony had finally met his match, and he could see already that it was going to be interesting.

"I don't imagine Deputy Director David would be too happy to know you were sitting in a basement under a boat drinking beer," Jen joked. "I'd assume that would cross certain boundaries they have in Mossad. From what I know of him, he's not one to negotiate."

"No, he's not," Ziva agreed. "I was glad to get away, for a while at least."

"It sounds like you've had a lot of dealings with Mossad, Director," McGee said, his tone slightly questioning. Jethro saw Jen shoot him a sideways glance before answering.

"I've had my share," she said shortly. There was an awkward silence for a moment, and then Ducky cleared his throat quietly.

"If you don't mind my asking, my dear, why on earth would you want to pierce your navel in the first place, and more especially when it could cause you so much trouble?" Ziva surveyed the older man for a moment before responding.

"I was trained to follow orders, Doctor Mallard," she said. "I wasn't trained to be perfect. I was never specifically ordered not to do it, and it was something I wanted. My own secret way of rebelling. It is a reminder that my bosses do not control every aspect of my life."

"I thought a good Mossad officer wanted their job to be their life?" Jethro asked in a would-be casual tone. Jen glared at him, but Ziva met his gaze defiantly.

"Once upon a time, I would have agreed with you, Gibbs," she said calmly. "But I've travelled more than most of my colleagues, and I've worked with a lot more open-minded people than there are at Mossad. Since I worked in Cairo, especially, I've thought differently about my work and my life. I still do my job well, and that is all that is asked of me. The rest is my personal choice." Jethro opened his mouth to respond, but Abby cut him off swiftly.

"O-Kay, guys, getting a little heavy in here," she said with a laugh. "If you want to talk about the grisly ins and outs of international Federal politics, do it on your own question time. This is Abby Question Time, and Abby Question Time is a relaxed time! So, in the spirit of keeping things light, I vote McGee to take the next turn." She grinned broadly around the room, and Jethro couldn't help but laugh. Tim blushed a horrific shade of scarlet, as though he had been dreading this.

"I – well, all right," he said gruffly, "but for the record, I would have used my free pass for this one if you'd have let me. I … I have this birthmark."

"Disgusting, Probie," Tony said promptly. "Let's see it!"

"Anthony …" Ducky rolled his eyes.

"Well, it's behind my left knee …" McGee rolled up his left trouser leg as he spoke, keeping his head ducked. "And you – you have to promise not to laugh, all right?"

"Come on, McGee," Abby said encouragingly. "We're all sharing our own embarrassing secrets too."

"Besides, what could be more embarrassing than taking a bullet in the ass?" Tony added, snickering loudly. Jethro was sorely tempted to have Ziva or Abby hit him again, but he stopped himself from giving the order. He would save them up, he decided. McGee looked around him uncomfortably, then sighed a little, turning into an awkward position and stretching his leg so that they could all see the birthmark. There was silence for a moment, and then laughter broke out around the room.

"Probie!" Tony gasped through his laughter. "You have a birthmark shaped like a bunny?!"

"You weren't supposed to laugh!" McGee protested, but nobody was really listening. Jen actually rocked to one side, clutching her side in laughter, and her head knocked against Jethro's arm. He glanced down for a moment and immediately wished he hadn't: the sight of her leaning against him, carefree, with hair tumbling down her shoulders and eyes sparkling, was more than he was prepared for. It crossed his mind that he hadn't seen her this way since Paris, but he firmly pushed the thought aside. He had meant what he said to her on her first day as Director – he **had** missed her, a lot. But she had made it clear that nothing could or would happen between them, whether because of her job or because she didn't feel the same way, and the sooner he came to terms with that, the easier it would be for both of them.

"Oh, Timothy, that is definitely embarrassing," Ducky said, chuckling sympathetically.

"It's even up there with getting shot in the butt," Jen commented, sneaking a sideways look at Jethro. He rolled his eyes and she laughed aloud at his reaction.

"Look on the bright side, Probie," Tony said, slapping McGee on the shoulder. "It could be worse, after all."

"How?" Abby asked, chortling. Tony feigned thought for a moment, then grinned.

"Nope, you're right," he said, "it couldn't be."

"All right, all right, I get the point!" McGee snapped, blushing furiously as he fumbled to fix his trouser leg. For a moment, Jethro actually felt sorry for the guy.

"Next?" he asked, raising his voice a few notches to be heard over the laughter. Slowly but surely, they all calmed down, settling back into their positions after having rolled around during their hysterics. McGee shot Jethro a grateful look, which he returned with a curt nod. He remembered what it was like to be the Probie.

"Oh, McGee, I needed that," Abby grinned, reaching over and ruffling his hair. "Okay, well, I really don't mind who goes next, but seeing as I have to choose … Jimmy?" Palmer grimaced slightly, but sat up a little straighter nonetheless.

"It really doesn't measure up to anything else we've seen," he warned them.

"Let us judge that, Palmer," Tony joked. "What's your story?"

"Uh, well, it's a scar. I got it when I was thirteen, and I was ice-skating with my brother and his girlfriend." He took off his right shoe and sock, and everyone sucked in their breath slightly at the sight of the sharp, straight line running right across the centre of his foot. "The scar's not that embarrassing, just a little sore if I wear the wrong shoes, but the story behind it, uh …"

"What happened?" Ziva asked curiously. Palmer swallowed nervously.

"I, uh, I tried to hit on my brother's girlfriend," he confessed with an anxious chuckle.

"Wow!" Abby gasped, eyes wide. "Your own brother did that to you?!"

"Uh, no, not exactly," Palmer said quietly. "Actually it was Jessica, she, uh, she was really pretty ticked off with me …"

"A girl ran over you with ice skates on?" McGee summarised. Palmer nodded, not saying another word. A tremor of laughter ran through the room, but everyone seemed to have cooled off a little after McGee's revelation.

"Wow, Palmer, I can't believe a girl scarred you," Tony jibed.

"Hey!" Ziva said, clearly offended. "Women are perfectly capable of scarring men, Tony. I would be more than happy to demonstrate."

"Sounds naughty, Ziva," Tony shot back, smirking.

"Don't mess with a woman trained in combat, DiNozzo," Jen warned. "It's dangerous enough to mess with any other woman – isn't it, Jethro?"

"Oh, here we go," he muttered sarcastically. Ducky laughed aloud. "Something funny, Duck?"

"I was just remembering the time I had to stitch you up after Stephanie hit you with a baseball bat, Jethro," Ducky said with a reminiscent smile. "Yes … 'hell hath no fury' doesn't quite seem sufficient, going by your experiences." Tony and Abby had heard the story before, of course, but Palmer, Ziva and McGee all gaped at Jethro in astonishment. Jen didn't look surprised, but merely smiled.

"That one's new to me," she commented mildly, almost as though she were discussing the weather. "But I never knew Stephanie. Diane, on the other hand …"

"Which number would that be, boss?" Tony asked cheekily.

"Two," Jethro said shortly. It seemed pointless to try to keep his secrets, with Jen apparently so keen on divulging them. "And she was a nutcase."

"To be kind," Jen smirked. "I don't think I'll ever forget the first time I met her."

"What happened, Director?" Abby queried, her eyes glinting. Jenny laughed aloud again, obviously caught up in her memories.

"She threw a chair at me," she said, catching Jethro's eye, probably to see if he remembered that day too. Which he did, of course. Hard not to, really.

"Why would she throw a chair?" McGee asked bemusedly.

"She thought I was having an affair," Jethro supplied, not wanting them to hear any more of it from Jen's point of view. She had a habit of making things sound a lot worse than they were. Tony raised an eyebrow suggestively.

"Were you?" he questioned bluntly. Jethro shot him a disapproving look.

"No, DiNozzo, I wasn't," he snapped. "I don't cheat. We were already separated, in the process of filing for divorce, and she came in here, uninvited, to **my** home, and started having a hissy fit."

"Any particular reason for that?" Abby prodded with a mischievous grin.

"She wasn't one for hearing people out," Jen commented. "I was down here – it was actually the first time I'd ever been here, because I remember almost falling down those stairs in the dark … anyway, I'd come over to fetch Jethro for a case, because his phone was disconnected. We were just preparing to head out when she arrived, and she took one look at me and decided I was the reason her marriage had failed. The fact that she was a cold-hearted gold-digger had **nothing** to do with it, naturally."

"Jen," Jethro said warningly. She merely shrugged, as if to say _who cares_? but the truth was, he did. He didn't care what she thought about Diane, because she couldn't possibly think anything he hadn't already thought a thousand times, but he did care what his team knew about his private life.

"Diane was paranoid," she said simply. "She saw Jethro with a younger woman, with red hair, and assumed the worst. And when I didn't respond to her threats, she got a little angry."

"And that's how she ended up throwing a chair?" DiNozzo pushed. Jethro mentally upped the head-slaps-owed tally to five.

"Yes," Jen confirmed. "It was her problem, not mine."

"Although I don't think telling her that if I had been having an affair, it would only be a result of her being frigid, helped the situation much," Jethro added dryly. Jen seemed to struggle slightly with herself, torn between being ashamed and proud, so she settled for a wry grin instead. McGee let out a low whistle, and Ziva smirked.

"I think we're going to need a whole other night set aside to play 'getting to know the Director,'" Abby commented, her eyes wide. "There's a lot more to you than meets the eye, isn't there?"

"You have no idea, Abby," Ziva threw in. Jethro saw Jen throw her a warning look, one that clearly said _shut up if you want to see tomorrow_, and made a mental note to quiz her on what exactly had happened in Cairo the next chance he got. To hell with keeping his nose out of her private life.

"Can we just get back to the game?" Jen asked with a half-laugh. "I don't believe DiNozzo's shared with us yet."

"Thank you, ma'am," Tony said sarcastically, and Jen merely smirked. Jethro couldn't help but think it served him right after all the fishing he had been doing.

"No, I want Tony to go last," Abby grinned. "Which only leaves us with you, Ducky."

"Oh, very well," the doctor said in a resigned tone. "I do have a rather obscene scar just here …" He rolled up his shirtsleeve to reveal a long, thin white line on the back of his right arm. "I was a student at the University of Edinburgh at the time … yes, I remember it very clearly. One of my classmates was jealous of the amount of extra time I was granted for hands-on study with the Professor – a brilliant man – and he cornered me in one of the practice rooms one day. His anger was quite unnecessary, but when I tried to tell him so, it seemed to push him over the edge."

"He gave you that?" McGee asked, his eyes wide. Ducky nodded gravely.

"Yes … he always was a little too scalpel-happy," he said thoughtfully. "I believe that was part of the reason his access to the theatres was restricted to begin with. Upon further examination, it was revealed that the boy had severe mental problems. Tragic, really."

"That's terrible, Doctor," Palmer said in a hushed voice.

"Why was this embarrassing, Doctor Mallard?" Ziva asked uncertainly.

"Well, would you like it if you had to look at something like that every day?" Ducky asked her gently, and she shook her head. "No. It's a constant reminder of what was actually a rather traumatising experience … and it doesn't look particularly handsome, either."

"I've actually never noticed it before, Ducky," Tony said, his tone sincere.

"Me neither," Jen added. Jethro hadn't either, but he wasn't about to say so. If there was one thing everyone on his team agreed about him, it was that he was omniscient, and he was rather keen to leave them under that impression for as long as possible.

"No, well, luckily I've always been pale-skinned," Ducky laughed. "It comes from many years' worth of Scottish weather, I believe. It has faded a lot over the years, for which I am greatly thankful. I don't suppose it is overly noticeable to the unknowing eye, but I am always acutely aware of it, and therein lies the embarrassment, I believe."

"I can see that," Abby nodded, looking pensive. "Well, thanks for sharing, Ducky. It can't be much fun to relive."

"There are people here who have lived through much worse than I have, Abigail," he responded softly, catching Jethro's eye. Jethro looked away almost immediately, determined not to think too much about Shannon and Kelly tonight. There were some things his team never needed to know, and the truth about his first marriage was one of them. Ducky had only found out because he had been close with Stephanie, actually introducing Jethro to her, and she had found out by accident when they had been dating. She had flipped the lid and gone to Ducky for confirmation, surprising him in the process. Jethro had never spoken of them to anybody at work, and Ducky had never asked. He didn't want that to change now.

"All right," Tony said, clearing his throat. Jethro knew he wasn't particularly comfortable with moments like this, and he couldn't blame him. "My turn, is it?"

"Yup," Abby agreed with a grin. "Let's see your tat, Tony."

"How do you know he has a tattoo?" McGee asked her suspiciously, and she just smiled mysteriously.

"I know a lot of things that could shock you, Timmy," she taunted him. "So come on, Tony. Let everyone get a good look, now."

"Hey, I'm not ashamed," Tony shrugged. He pulled his shirt over his head without so much as blinking, and grinned broadly as his bare chest was exposed. Jethro raised his eyes to the ceiling.

"Is that Chinese, Tony?" McGee asked curiously.

"Japanese, actually," DiNozzo corrected with a cheerful smile. "It means –"

"'The Love God,'" Ziva interrupted, squinting at what looked like squiggles to Jethro. "I can't say it surprises me, Tony. Disappoints me, yes …"

"You speak Japanese?" Palmer asked, wide-eyed.

"Not fluently," she shrugged. "It is easier to read than to speak."

"Why are you disappointed, Ziva?" Tony cut in, his eyebrows raised suggestively. "Wish I had something a little more … romantic?"

"I had thought that your ego was all part of your macho act, Tony," she shot back. "I was trying to give you the benefit of the grout."

"I think you mean 'benefit of the doubt', my dear," Ducky corrected her kindly, and she smiled.

"Yes, that," she amended. "But it turns out you really are as egotistical as you appear."

"That hurts me, Ziva," DiNozzo said, feigning seriousness. "Here I was thinking you would just be happy to have an excuse to watch me take my shirt off." And the head slap tally rocketed to ten, Jethro thought.

"In your dreams, Tony," Ziva said, rolling her eyes, and he smirked and winked at her.

"If only you knew," he replied, and her mouth dropped open in what appeared to be a mixture of shock, disgust, and semi-amusement. Jethro cleared his throat, gaining everyone's attention, and he raised his eyebrows mildly.

"Who's going next?" he asked, but Abby cut him off.

"Hang on," she said, grinning. "Not so quickly, Gibbs! I haven't forgotten, you know."

"Forgotten what?" McGee asked bemusedly, and Abby smirked in Jethro's direction.

'**I still want an explanation for what happened upstairs**,' she signed to him, and he couldn't help but let out a small snort of amusement. She really didn't know when to give up. He caught Jen's eye and she rolled her own in his direction.

'**Nothing to tell, Abs**,' he assured her silently, and she looked at Jen for assurance.

'**Just the easiest way of reaching the top cupboards**,' the other woman confirmed with such an innocent expression on her face that Jethro almost believed her. Abby frowned a little.

'**If you say so**,' she finally signed back with a shrug.

"Hey! That's really very annoying, you know," Tony interrupted them with a mock glare fixed upon his features. "Something you want to share with the class?"

"If it involves Cairo, Jenny …" Ziva said warningly.

"It doesn't, but now you mention it, I do think you ladies ought to share some of those stories with the group," Jethro said in a would-be casual tone. Jen glowered at him and whacked him on the arm.

"Don't push me, Jethro," she said coolly, and he merely scoffed.

"I'm terrified," he returned dryly. Tony snickered behind his beer bottle, and Jen rolled her eyes in a bored fashion.

"He reminds me of you, you know," she said to Jethro, indicating Tony with her head. Everyone else in the room froze and turned to stare at the two men, as though searching for similarities, and Jethro grimaced slightly.

"Boss, you used to be like Tony?" McGee asked, looking surprised.

"Why is that so hard to believe, Probie?" DiNozzo demanded, and Ziva chuckled slightly.

"Wow, Gibbs, were you ever as bad as Tony with women?" Abby asked, smirking.

"Hey! I am not bad with women!" Tony complained.

"I've been married three times, Abs," Jethro retorted, ignoring the younger man. "That would either make me worse than DiNozzo, or very, very good."

"Three guesses which it is, and the first two don't count," Jen muttered in Ducky's ear, but not quietly enough, and Jethro shot her a glare. She met his fierce gaze with one of her own to rival even the infamous Gibbs stare, and he saw McGee and DiNozzo blanch slightly.

"Ouch, that is a good Gibbs," Tony commented. Jen raised one eyebrow, but never lifted her eyes from Jethro's.

"I'm not a junior agent anymore, Jethro," she said evenly. "Don't think you can pull that one on me and expect to shut me up with it."

"As I recall, you never knew when to shut up anyway," he shot back, and she smirked.

"Then we should get along just fine," she replied cryptically. "Now, back to the game? Who's going next?"

"I might have a question." All eyes turned onto Jimmy Palmer, surprised, and he smiled nervously. "Can I?"

* * *

**A/N:** Well, thanks TONS to everyone who reviewed: aserene, TroubleTrouble, TaylorGibbs, crazy-prune, Loopy4Tibbs, Caf Pow, T'Kath, MissJayne, Megean, MontyHobbit, Lost in Romance, losingmymind2, x0NCISx0, Navona/Paige Fan ;), Precious Pup, genjacg, lemy, LaLaIth-DiDi, DancesWithPassion, Mrs.Scott323, Mara152, Jennyngibbsbelong2getha, james-louise, and SassafrasGrey! Your reviews are all really kind and keep me motivated to keep writing :)

Comments time now lol... only a couple, I swear!

Megean - possibly the longest review I've ever received!! But here are my thoughts on the Ziva thing:  
Abby/Ziva not getting along, I know about, but I wanted to include everyone, and I figure that since Gibbs trusts Ziva so explicitly, Abby's making the effort.  
As for Ziva keeping things to herself, that actually DID cross my mind lol ... so far, though, everything she's talked about has been pretty general stuff, and we know she's not shy! Especially for the sex one, as she was teasing Tony about phone sex within 5 seconds of meeting him ;) When the more personal questions come about, then we'll see more of Ziva's mistrust creeping through :)

Jennyngibbsbelong2getha - Jibbs revelations are all in the works, trust me! I'm an obsessive shipper :P

And Caf Pow, once again, thanks for the idea! This chapter is owed entirely to you, so thanks! :D

Little note - I'm actually leaving in ... 4 days (eek!) to go on holiday for a fortnight, so the next update will be a while again, I'm afraid! I have started it, Jimmy's question, so no ideas necessary there, and I'm going to work on it and POSSIBLY get it up before I go. However, if I manage it, it'll be a miracle! So you might be looking at a 3-week wait, guys! But if anyone wants to submit ideas for the chapter AFTER that one, then Ducky's question is up for negotiation ;)

Much love, and please keep letting me know your thoughts!

Alison xxx


	4. Not bad, Palmer: Not half bad

**Title:** Getting To Know You  
**Author:** CruorLuna (Alison)  
**Rating:** T, for now. May change later!  
**Category:** NCIS: Naval Criminal Investigative Service  
**Genre:** Humour, slight romance  
**Pairings:** Lots of innuendo for Jibbs, and a few for McAbby and Tiva as well, but nothing concrete as yet. Don't be surprised if it gets romantic in later chapters though.  
**Characters:** Gibbs, Jen, Tony, Ziva, Abby, McGee, Ducky, Jimmy  
**Summary:** Abby wants the team to spend some 'quality time' together. Abby being Abby, this results in the investigators and co playing a truth telling game in Gibbs' basement. The past will be revealed, truths told, and surprises are in store for everyone concerned.

**Disclaimer:** Sigh. I only own the ideas, and I manipulate the thoughts a LOT, and I guess there are some parts of the past that I own too … but the characters, not mine. Yet. But I'll let you know if they decide not to bother paying the ransom – then I'll have them forever!

**A/N:** Okay so the miracle never happened. I'm sorry! I actually only got about a third to half of it done before I left ... but I wrote the rest all today because I was so determined to update, so thank you for being patient and I hope my faithful readers haven't abandoned me just yet! Thanks tons to everyone who reviewed – you know you guys are loved! As usual, replies/comments are at the end of the chapter. This chapter is intended to be a little more serious than some, because I really wanted to have a good mixture of emotions etc … I've kind of gone for the humour side of it (if you squint you'll see it) so far, and there will be a little of that in here too, but it's geared a little more towards getting an insight into the characters' thoughts and emotions than just entertaining. But hopefully I've struck a decent balance between the two. As always, hope you enjoy, and let me know! :)

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"All right, Mr Palmer, let us hear it," Ducky said with a kind smile, after nobody spoke for a few moments. Jimmy was sitting looking around him unsurely, as though worried that he had spoken out of turn by asking to go next. He half-smiled gratefully in the doctor's direction now, and cleared his throat.

"Okay, uh, it's nothing as risqué as what Tony and Abby asked," he said, and Jethro let out a small snort.

"Good," he commented dryly. He wasn't normally the encouraging type, but the man was sweating like it was a July day at the office without air conditioning. He figured a little subtle reassurance couldn't go amiss, and sure enough, Palmer laughed a little, and when he spoke again, his voice was stronger.

"Right," he agreed. "But, uh, well, I don't really know why I want to know, it's just something that I've always sort of wondered. I guess I just find it interesting, you know? I like to know about this sort of thing."

"About what sort of thing?" McGee prompted him, looking puzzled.

"Oh, yeah. Well, uh, I guess it's kind of two questions in one … uh, first, what made you decide to go down the career path you did? And second, how did that bring you to working at NCIS?" Jethro raised his eyebrows, mildly impressed. It wasn't something he had been expecting from the young ME's assistant, but it was a sensible question: insightful and well thought-out, but not too personal for comfort. The murmur around the room let him know that his companions were equally surprised and agreeable to the question.

"Not bad, Palmer," DiNozzo said with something that Jethro thought was dangerously close to verging on respect in his tone. "Not half bad. All right, so who's first, then?"

"Uh, well, I was actually thinking I would start," Jimmy said with a small smile. "You know, get the ball rolling? Unless someone else really wants to …"

"Hey, this is your time to shine, Jimmy," Abby said with an encouraging grin. "You say who, you say when, you say how deep we're going. Embrace the power!"

"Right," he said unsurely. "Right … uh, well, okay, I'll answer my own questions, then."

"Are we back to being allowed free passes?" McGee interjected suddenly. Abby frowned.

"Why would it matter, Timmy?" she demanded. "It's not like he's asking you something you ought to be embarrassed about."

"Well, that's my call though, right?"

"Free passes are back on," Jethro cut in firmly. Abby shot him a pleading look, but he merely met it with a stern stare, and she pouted and slouched back against the ribs of the boat. "On with it, Palmer."

"Yeah," Jimmy said, sounding slightly excited. "Well, uh, I was always interested in, uh, in medicine – my dad was a neurosurgeon, before he retired – and it was kind of expected of me, you know? But I, uh, I found it really difficult once I got started – not the work, though, that was easy – but the patients. I just couldn't really face being the one to tell the mother-to-be that she had miscarried, or the twenty-one year old that he had six months to live. Blood and guts have never bothered me, but I guess I don't have the stomach for the more personal side of it. I figured, if I couldn't bring myself to help them the way they deserved when they were alive, then the least I could do was put my education to good use and give them justice and dignity in death. My father wasn't exactly thrilled – pathology isn't his idea of a great medical mind used to its full potential – but I felt like I could still make a difference."

"You do, Mr Palmer," Ducky assured him quietly. "I think it's highly commendable that you saw it through and found another way of helping, rather than just giving up."

"Very noble," Ziva added with a respectful nod.

"So how did you end up at NCIS?" Jen asked curiously, and Palmer let out a small chuckle.

"By a total fluke, actually," he confessed, pushing his glasses further up the bridge of his nose. "I was, uh, I was looking for my first post-graduate job with any ME who was willing to hire me, and it was pretty hard to find someone. Everywhere I tried was either fully staffed or unwilling to take me, because I don't, uh, I don't interview very well. I was in the NCIS building to deliver a package, because my part-time job that I hadn't given up yet was as a delivery boy, and I overheard Dr Mallard talking to one of the Deputy Directors about the shooting of his assistant. He said he'd need a new one ASAP, so I called the next morning for an interview, and he hired me on the spot."

"You don't interview as badly as you appear to think, Mr Palmer," Ducky said, a hint of amusement in his voice. "Besides, nobody could question your credentials or your enthusiasm, and to be quite frank, the fact that you were so eager to impress alone convinced me that you were worth taking a chance on."

"You always have been good at looking out for the newbies, Ducky," Jen said with a reminiscent smile. Jethro once again upped the head-slap tally to twelve as DiNozzo shot her a suggestive glance.

"Don't tell me our Director was a Probie that Ducky had to look out for?" he sneered. Jen raised one eyebrow at him, her jaw set, and Jethro snorted into his beer as he saw Tony recoil slightly. He had certainly trained her well.

"I've never answered to the name 'Probie' in my life, DiNozzo," she bit back, "and I've always been perfectly capable of looking out for myself. I was simply commenting that when I came in at first, not knowing anybody and feeling a little overwhelmed by the intensity of the job and certain people's expectations –" here she shot Jethro a sideways glance, her eyes twinkling slightly – "Ducky was good to me. He was kind; supportive; welcoming. Basically he was the anti-DiNozzo of the day." A loud ripple of laughter passed through the room, and DiNozzo gaped at her, looking suitably humbled.

"I guess that's you told, Tony," Abby grinned. "Nicely done, Director!"

"Thank you, Abby."

"That was unkind, ma'am," Tony said, seeming to recover his voice, and feigning hurt. "That really was – it hurts me to think that you think so little of me already."

"Well, she always did have good instincts, DiNozzo," Jethro said with a slight smile.

"Boss!" the other man whined, and Abby giggled.

"This game is turning out to be even more fun than I imagined!" she said happily. "All right! So, Jimmy, who's next?"

"Uh, well, how about you, Dr Mallard?" Palmer suggested, turning to his mentor. Ducky smiled indulgently and straightened his glasses, clearing his throat quietly.

"Very well, Mr Palmer," he agreed. "Although I'm afraid it's a terribly boring story. As a young lad I was, like you, encouraged to study medicine, and it never crossed my mind to do anything else. I spent some of the best years of my life at the University of Edinburgh, as you all know, and when I was qualified, all that remained was to choose a speciality. I considered many other avenues, but I eventually decided on pathology for one reason, and one reason alone."

"Why, Doctor?" Ziva asked, sounding interested.

"It's Ducky, my dear," Ducky corrected her with a smile. "And the reason was not entirely dissimilar to Mr Palmer's. I found myself perfectly capable of being the bearer of bad news, and I enjoyed working closely with my patients. However, I came to realise that I could not help them all, and it saddened me to grow close with people I knew I was failing. I decided I would rather use my knowledge to find out **how** they had died, in all the detail I possibly could, so that I would know for sure that they could not have been helped while still alive. It was selfish of me, I suppose, but I preferred knowing that in my chosen career, I would not be letting anyone down."

"That's not selfish, Ducky," Jen said reassuringly. "It's sweet that you were so eager to be a help all of the time."

"Thank you, Jennifer," he responded, inclining his head towards her.

"So how did you end up at NCIS?" McGee asked him. The good doctor let out a reminiscent chuckle, glancing at Jethro knowingly.

"Well, that is a story that Jethro tells much better than I do."

"Not true, Duck," Jethro assured him, shaking his head. "I just exaggerate it a hell of a lot less. But you can tell them your version."

"Very well," Ducky conceded. "Well, I'd been working as a senior assistant to the ME at Bethesda for around six months, under the promise that after his retirement I would be guaranteed the job. He left me in charge of an autopsy one day, and who should wander into my theatre unannounced but NCIS Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs?"

"He has a habit of doing that," Jenny commented dryly, and Jethro shot her a withering look. Ducky chuckled slightly.

"Yes, I'd noticed that myself," he agreed with a smile. "Anyway, the young gentleman whose autopsy I had been designated to perform turned out to be a homicide victim, almost surviving but sadly not, and NCIS were investigating, naturally. I believe it was only your fourth case or so, wasn't it Jethro?"

"Sixth," Jethro clarified. Tony's eyes widened.

"Your boss let you take the details of the autopsy alone on your sixth case, boss?" he asked, looking stunned. "You still won't let any of us do that."

"I'm not Mike Franks," Jethro countered with a wry grin. Ducky made a sceptical sound.

"Give it a few years, Jethro," he responded, and Jethro half-laughed. It was true that he had learnt a lot from Franks, and he supposed their personalities weren't overly dissimilar, but he didn't think they were as alike as Ducky suggested.

"I'm no quitter, Duck," he said quietly, and Ducky's expression sobered. Everyone else looked between them bemusedly.

"Have you heard from him lately?" the older man asked.

"Last I heard he was still in Mexico," Jethro shrugged, taking a swig of his beer. "Doesn't want to know a damn thing about what's going on in the world because it doesn't suit him to. If that's how he wants to live then let him. He was a loose cannon."

"So he trained you well then, Gibbs," Abby smirked. "He sounds fun! Why'd he quit?"

"He tried to warn them," Jethro answered. "He spoke out against Bin Laden in the mid-Nineties, but nobody wanted to listen. By the time they realised he was right it was too late. He got pissed at being ignored, turned his badge and gun over to me and walked. I haven't seen him since April of ninety-six."

"That's when you went to Europe," Jenny said quietly, and he shot her a glance. "I was supposed to be training under Franks, but the plans changed at the last minute. You were named team leader and you decided we were all off to the south of France."

"Hey, most agents don't see that kind of experience in a lifetime," he defended himself. "You were damn lucky to get to go along in your first year."

"No need to get so defensive!" she exclaimed, eyes wide in surprise. "Jesus, Jethro, it was just an observation."

"Maybe we should get back to the story?" Palmer suggested nervously, and Jethro inclined his head in what could almost be perceived as an apology.

"Continue, Ducky," he said simply, never allowing the dreaded s-word to pass his lips.

"Yes, well, as we've now established, it was your sixth case," Ducky summarised with a small smile. "Anyway, I talked him through the preliminary findings, which as I recall were very limited except the obvious fact that he had been stabbed and died in surgery. He pressed me on every detail, every possibility, and I was highly impressed. He was more thorough than Franks had ever been, and certainly more so than any other junior Agent I had ever seen. He also had a very strong stomach, which was a welcome change."

"And this is what I meant when I said I exaggerate it a lot less," Jethro said, rolling his eyes, and McGee and Tony laughed appreciatively.

"Well then you should have opted to tell it yourself," Ducky retorted. "Now, as I was saying, I was observing his technique as an investigator rather closely – one might say that you had piqued my curiosity, Jethro. And apparently he was watching me just as closely."

"Well, you weren't like any of the other ME's I'd come across," he shrugged.

"No, I suppose not," Ducky laughed. "And I asked him how long he had been with NCIS, only to be stunned by the answer of two weeks. We got to talking while we waited for Franks and I told him about my imminent promotion to Medical Examiner, among other things. Agent Franks arrived and was briefed, and they left, with the promise of a bottle of Scotch when my promotion went through. About an hour later, Jethro was back."

"Why'd you go back, boss?" Tony asked, furrowing his brow, and Jethro shot Ducky a sideways glance. The other man nodded his assent and Jethro picked up the story where he had left off.

"We'd been interviewing the Ensign's doctors," he explained. "I was on the ward when another patient crashed. He died, and the Chief ME came to claim the body. I overheard him talking to another assistant and told him that he was being given this autopsy, and if he performed to his 'usual excellent standards,' he was being offered Dr Garth's position in three weeks' time."

"What?!" Abby exploded, indignant on Ducky's behalf. Jen let out an insulted sound and squeezed the doctor's arm in support, and he smiled slightly and patted her hand gently.

"How dare they try to squeeze you out?" Jenny fumed, and Jethro smirked a little. He had always thought she looked particularly attractive when she was angry. Her eyes blazed and it brought out the emerald in them. "They were damn lucky to have you!"

"Thank you, my dear," Ducky said with a smile. "I appreciate that."

"So, where did you come into it, Gibbs?" Ziva asked curiously.

"I put two and two together," Jethro said. "Realised what they were doing to Ducky. I didn't like it. I hate liars. I spoke to Franks about it and he put in a call to the Deputy Director at the time, and he agreed that we were short staffed in Autopsy. I went back to offer him a job with NCIS before Bethesda had a chance to shut him out. He handed in his resignation the next morning."

"And I've never looked back since," Ducky finished. "It was the best thing that could have happened to me. It's been fourteen years of my life, and I couldn't be more grateful to you, Jethro, for bringing me here."

"I was just the messenger," he corrected uncomfortably. "Franks put in the call and Jameson gave the go-ahead. Mike just sent me to offer you because we'd already talked and got on all right."

"You keep telling yourself that," was all Ducky said in response, and Jethro rolled his eyes.

"That's really sweet, Gibbs!" Abby said with a soft smile. "Really, that was so awesome of you to do. It's so cute."

"Don't call me 'cute,' Abs," he said warningly.

"All right, so that's the basement covered," DiNozzo said cheerfully, intervening before Gibbs got annoyed with the favourite. As if he really could anyway. "Where to next, Palmer? Up one floor to the lab, two to the bullpen or three to the office?"

"Uh, I guess we could just work our way up," Palmer said with a half-laugh. "Abby?"

"Why not?" Abby shrugged. "It's not that interesting a story though."

"Try us, Abs," McGee said encouragingly, and she smiled widely at him. Jethro resisted the urge to roll his eyes.

"All right, well, obviously I studied forensic sciences at college," she said. "I've always been fascinated by the way things work, you know? How does every individual living entity on the planet have its own distinct DNA? Why does it make a difference whether you light a fire using gasoline or hairspray? I can't explain it – I guess I was just a really curious kid. I wanted to understand everything all the time. And as I got older and started to make more sense of it, I still thought it was really interesting, and nothing I found out was ever enough. I wanted to know **more**, you know? So, I went into forensic sciences. It's not a great story, like I said. I was just interested in it."

"At least you've always known what you wanted," Jenny pointed out, and Abby grinned at her happily.

"True!" she exclaimed happily. "I guess I don't really think of it that way. Thanks, Director."

"So what brought you to NCIS, then?" Tony asked her, and she grinned even broader.

"I hope you're all prepared for another Gibbs-is-a-hero story," she warned them, and this time Jethro did roll his eyes. All eyes swivelled onto him, but he shook his head tiredly.

"I'm nothing of the sort, Abs," he said, shaking his head in despair, but her mouth dropped open in outrage and she held up her hand to stop him.

"_Au contraire_, my silver-haired fox," she said firmly, "that is exactly what you are. To me, anyway. See, I'd filled out a whole bunch of applications for different companies and agencies and really anywhere that was hiring forensic scientists, and one of them happened to be NCIS. I didn't even know what NCIS was when I arrived – I had thought it was a pharmaceutical company or something like that. It wasn't what I was trained for, but I figured I had to start somewhere. Anyway I got there for my interview with the Director, only to find out he had pushed me off onto one of his team leaders."

"Gibbs?" Tony asked, but Abby shook her head.

"I wish," she said vehemently. "No, it was Special Agent Franklin."

"Ouch," Jenny said sympathetically, startling Jethro. He had forgotten she had known all these people as well. It seemed a million years ago that she had been on his team.

"Exactly," Abby agreed, nodding in Jen's direction. "He was absolutely awful. I could tell he'd made up his mind about me before I'd even opened my mouth just by the look on his face when he saw my tattoos. He was all happy smiles on the surface, but you could see he just wanted to get it over and done with. He kept making snide comments about my web tattoo and said my pigtails made me look five years old. When I got defensive, he claimed he was just 'kidding around.' And he kept checking out my ass. He was a total creep. And then, as if that wasn't bad enough, he questioned my qualifications! Like he didn't think someone who looks like me could have half a brain."

"What a snake!" McGee gasped, looking suitably outraged on her behalf.

"Snake is too nice a word for Walter Franklin," Jenny said with a half-sigh. "He's always been that way, Abby, **trust** me."

"Sounds like you've had your share of run-ins with him, Jenny," Ziva said in a curious tone, and Jen shrugged her shoulders. Jethro took a drink of his beer to help him swallow the comment that was fighting to escape. He knew all about Jen's 'run-ins' with Walter, all right. He had actually punched the other man in the jaw as a result of them.

"You could say that," Jenny agreed, shooting a sideways glance at Jethro. "He's one of the biggest chauvinists in the agency. He looks at a female in the workplace and all he sees is a piece of meat. It doesn't matter how hard you work or how professional you are, he just has one thing on his mind. He doesn't think women are as capable as men, and he's not afraid to voice his opinions. He's a real piece of work."

"And on top of all that, he's a pain in the ass," Jethro said dryly, and there was a ripple of laughter around the room.

"Well, I guess that's something," Abby said, still smiling at Jethro's comment. "At least I know it wasn't totally personal, although I still think part of it probably was. I know I don't always make the best first impression, but that's okay. Either people like me as I am or they don't, right?"

"Good for you, Abby," McGee said quietly, and Jethro thought for a moment that Abby was actually blushing. He firmly pushed the thought to the back of his mind. He didn't want to have to have a 'talk' with them about rule twelve.

"So, if the agent was such a snake, why did he offer you the job?" questioned Ziva, and Abby shot her best smile at Jethro.

"My knight in shining armour," she cried, flourishing her hand wildly in his direction. He let out a snort at that one, and she pushed her fringe out of her eyes with a giggle.

"So, what happened then?" Palmer asked.

"Well, he said someone would be in touch, but in a way that made it perfectly clear he wasn't going to give me any sort of backing," Abby exclaimed, pulling a face. "And he said if I wanted a coffee on the way out I could use the machine. I wasn't going to take anything, but I was really upset. Some of the comments he made really stung. So I went up to get a coffee, and there was already someone at the machine."

"Gibbs," Tony tried again, but once again Abby shook her head.

"Stan," she grinned. "Remember Stan, Tony?"

"Yup," DiNozzo said shortly, and Jethro suppressed a smirk. He remembered that meeting very well. Tony had not exactly taken to Stan very well.

"How long did he stay with you, then?" Jen asked, looking Jethro in the eye. Stan had joined the team about two years before she had left, and they had never really gotten along very well. Jethro had always suspected it was because Stan had tried so hard to impress him, as team leader, and had felt threatened by Jenny, who by that point was not only Senior Agent, but also Jethro's long-time lover. And he had a sneaking suspicion she had never liked Stan because he questioned her abilities, thinking she had only gotten to where she was because of her personal relationship with Jethro. This was, of course, totally untrue, but it was never easy to change people's minds when they had already made them up without all the facts.

"Five years total," Jethro said in response to Jen's question. "Left about three and a half years ago to run his own team. Doing damn well for himself, too."

"Well good for him," she retorted dryly, and he grinned. She was funny when she was sarcastic, even if she didn't realise it. Tony leaned forward looking curious.

"You didn't like him, then?" he asked Jenny, and she seemed to debate for a moment.

"I didn't dislike him," she said finally. "We just have very different styles. We didn't see eye-to-eye a lot of the time, and he didn't like that I was senior to him. But he's a good agent, by all accounts, and I never had anything personally against him."

"Oh, yeah, you were definitely born to play politics," Jethro laughed. She merely raised her eyes heavenward in response, and Tony cleared his throat.

"So, Abs, Stan was at the coffee machine," he pressed, and the Goth smirked.

"Right," she agreed. "And I must have looked as miserable as I felt, because he asked me if I was okay, and offered me a coffee. That's when Gibbs showed up."

"And told you not to drink it," he laughed.

"Yeah. 'That's not coffee,'" Abby grinned, impersonating his voice. "He said that if I wanted a decent coffee, there was a good place on the corner and he was just heading out. Or if I liked sugar, he had heard the Caf-Pows were all right."

"And the addiction began, my dear," Ducky chortled. "I'd forgotten that was how you discovered those revolting things."

"Hey! They're good!" she said defensively. "Anyway, he walked me out on his way for a 'real coffee,' and I told him what had happened. He told me pretty much what you heard tonight – Franklin wasn't worth bothering about, et cetera et cetera. And he asked me the truth about my qualifications and why I wanted to work for NCIS, and gave me a sort of mini-interview in the elevator. By the time I left I had cheered right up."

"And you went to Franklin, boss?" McGee asked, looking impressed.

"Better!" Abby exclaimed before Jethro had the chance to reply. "He went straight to Director Morrow and told him it was out of order for him to mess around with my interview process at the last minute, and if he insisted on doing it, at least find a competent agent to handle it on his behalf. He told him he'd spoken to me for a grand total of five minutes and he'd be willing to vouch for me personally if it would help override Franklin's report. Morrow was impressed that I'd won Gibbs over and called me back to meet me for himself, with Gibbs present, and he offered me the job on the spot."

"Wow, boss," Tony said. "That was really cool of you."

"Franklin is a twerp," Jethro said bluntly. "He and I had already had problems in the past, and I'd seen him affect one too many women." Here he felt his gaze slide almost subconsciously towards Jen, and she smiled faintly, and he knew she was remembering how he had come to her defence when she had felt demeaned by the other man. "Besides, Abs was damn near perfect for that job. I was sick of having sub-standard lab work done."

"Well, I'll never forget it," Abby said with a shy smile at being called near perfect. "And that's how I ended up here, anyway. Next victim, Jimmy?"

"Uh, I guess we're onto the bullpen now, aren't we?" he said with a half-laugh. "So, I don't know, uh … Tony?" DiNozzo sat up straighter and stretched his hands out in front of him, interlocking his fingers. He then grinned around the circle.

"Sorry to say it, folks, but we've got another Gibbs moment," he smirked, and Jethro wished the floor would open up and swallow him whole. He didn't like being portrayed as some kind of a hero when he wasn't. It was only normal that he would have been involved in many of them coming to NCIS – they were **his** team, after all.

"First things first," Abby cut in. "You were a Philly and Baltimore cop before you were NCIS. Why did you join the police force?"

"Actually I wasn't even serious about it at first," DiNozzo confessed.

"What a surprise," Ziva commented, and Tony shot her a glower. Abby also frowned at her, but kept her mouth shut.

"**Anyway**," Tony said pointedly. "I went along to the Academy visitation day to get out of my lectures for an afternoon. I joined in all the exercises and they told me I'd make a good cop. They really seemed to think I'd do well in the course, which surprised me. But I didn't think much more about it for a few months afterwards. But then … a, uh, a friend of mine was killed. Stabbed in a bar fight one night at a pre-graduation drinking fest. It put a bit of a damper on graduation. Anyway, I had to give statements and view a line-up and all sorts, and I remembered what they'd said to me at the visit day. They got the guy that did it less than four days after the fight. It meant a lot to me to know he was going away, and I thought: 'I want to do that. I want to give closure to other people like me. For once in my life, I want to make a difference.' I enrolled in the Academy the next day."

"Wow," Palmer said softly. There was a murmur of agreement with his simple sentiment around the room, and Jethro noticed that Ziva seemed humbled in light of this uncommonly honest admission.

"That's nice, Anthony," Ducky said quietly.

"I'm sorry, Tony," Ziva added. "I shouldn't have made fun of you. Your intentions were actually very honourable. You should be proud."

"Thanks, Ziva," Tony said with a sad sort of smile, the sort that Jethro was unaccustomed to seeing on the younger man's face. He then felt his eyebrows shoot into his hairline when Ziva reached out and squeezed Tony's hand comfortingly, and he didn't pull away. He frowned to himself. _Rule twelve, people_! Had everyone taken leave of their memories?

"So how did you wind up at NCIS then?" Jenny asked, and Tony's face took on an even more melancholy expression for a brief moment.

"Tony? Are you okay?" Abby asked concernedly, and he shook himself.

"Yeah, sorry," he said quickly. "It was just … I was remembering the last time somebody asked me that."

"Who?" Palmer asked curiously.

"Kate," Tony said quietly, and Jethro felt his chest constrict slightly. A hush fell over the room and DiNozzo looked down at his shoes. McGee cleared his throat.

"Did you tell her?" he asked, and Tony half-laughed.

"No," he said, a reminiscent smile crossing his features. "I made a stupid joke. She asked me how I got in, and I said … 'I smiled.'" Jethro snorted aloud, and everyone else reacted similarly. It was classic DiNozzo. Jethro knew the younger man was now regretting not being more honest with Kate when he had the chance, and he also somehow knew that it was going to be up to him to make him feel better.

"Kate would have appreciated that, DiNozzo," he said gruffly. Tony met his eye looking surprised for a moment, and Jethro could see the relief creep into his face.

"Thanks, boss," he said, and Jethro just nodded. There was a moment of silence before Tony seemed to gather himself and he straightened up again. "Anyway, I was working Homicide in Baltimore," he said, picking up his story as though there had been no interruptions. "And we turned up a dead Petty Officer. They called in NCIS but my boss was a real – well, he wasn't a nice man. He point-blank refused to turn over the body. Gibbs and his team of the day showed up to take the case, and I remember you getting really pissed off, boss, because Director Morrow ordered you to share jurisdiction."

"It was our territory, end of story," Jethro replied, a little more harshly than he'd intended.

"Yeah, something like that," Tony agreed with a half-smirk. "And my boss was just as angry. We all had to work together on the case and Brisbane – my boss – was on my back all the time, making sure I wasn't making us look bad in front of the Feds. I was his second-in-command, supposed to be, and I think he thought I was after his job or something, because he had suddenly started treating me like a rookie again. We got the case solved eventually, and I was assigned to drive the NCIS team to the airport."

"Rookie job," Jen commented, and Tony nodded.

"Yup. This is where the fun begins. Get this: the others pile out of the car and Gibbs turns to me and says: 'You ever get the backbone to stand up to that guy, there's a spot open on my team.' He gets out of the car and leaves me sitting there wondering what the hell's just happened, and I find his card sitting on the dashboard. Still haven't figured out how you got that there without me noticing, boss. And that was the end of that. I moved here three weeks later."

"To find that your new boss was even more of a bastard than the last one," Jethro finished with a wry smile, determined to make light of the situation. DiNozzo grinned.

"Let's not forget your tendencies towards physical violence, boss," he added. _Head slaps now owed: fifteen_, Jethro thought with an internal smirk. "And that's how I ended up here. It's been nearly three years now."

"Wow," Palmer said once again, this time with a smile. "That – that's actually really interesting, Tony. Thank you. So, uh, how about you, Ziva?"

"Pass," Ziva said flatly, not meeting anyone's eyes. Abby and Tony let out protesting sounds, and McGee and Palmer looked at her curiously but stayed silent. Ducky was his usual tactful self and said nothing, respecting her wishes, and Jethro exchanged a glance with Jen. They both knew why Ziva would want to divulge information like that, having to come forward about her father and Ari in the process. Jen averted her gaze from his after a moment, seeming satisfied that he agreed with her decision to intervene.

"So who now then?" she asked with a benign smile, but Abby frowned at her.

"Wait," she said in an almost pleading tone. "Ziva, why don't you want to share?"

"Yeah, Ziva, if you can talk about doing it on a bucking bronco –" DiNozzo began with a snicker, but Ziva cut him off by smacking him hard in the arm, a glare fixed on her face.

"It is my decision not to share," she said firmly. "We agreed to one free pass each. I want to use mine now. Who's next?" There were a few more grumbles from the usual parties, but Jethro shot warning glances in their directions and they quietened right down. Palmer shifted nervously where he was.

"All right, then, what about you, Special Agent Gibbs?" he asked, and Jethro could see in his eyes that he was worried about asking anything of The Boss. He grinned to himself.

"All right," he shrugged. It was easy enough to hide the truth about Shannon and Kelly without actually lying, and he really didn't want to waste his free pass just yet. After all, Jen hadn't asked her question yet.

"Ooh, good!" Abby said delightedly. "I've always wondered how you became a Marine, Gibbs. Was it the uniform that got you?"

"Loyalty to and respect for the uniform, yes," Jethro agreed. "I'm third generation military, Abs. I was raised to honour the uniform and love my country. I could say 'Semper Fi' before I could say 'Mom' or 'Dad.' That's the way military families are. That's how Marines raise their children. It was never a choice for me not to join the Corps. I wanted to serve my country and protect my countrymen. It was bred into me."

"But you left the Corps," McGee said, looking confused. "I don't get it. Why?"

"Do any of you know where I served as a Marine?" Jethro asked, not answering the question directly. He'd get to that part soon enough.

"Panama and Desert Storm," Jen said instantly, and he caught her eye, somewhat impressed that she still remembered. DiNozzo, McGee and Abby, on the other hand, all shot her suspicious glances, and Ziva seemed to be hiding a smile.

"Yeah," he agreed, choosing to ignore them. "Desert Storm was my second tour as a sniper with the Corps, in ninety through to ninety-one. While I was away, someone close to me was killed back home. The news affected me and my performance suffered. I wasn't on the ball enough."

"Your Purple Heart," Jenny said softly, and as he caught the hint of pain in her eyes, he flashed back to the night she had found it.

_**Jethro, you never told me about this**__ … she was waving his Purple Heart accusingly in his face, tears spilling over her eyelids … __**it wasn't important, Jen**__ … she was throwing it across the room … __**you know it's important to me**__ … she was sobbing, upset at the thought of him being so badly injured … she was clinging to his shoulder, murmuring the truth against his shirt … __**I know you've got scars, Jethro**__, she was whispering … __**how can I trust you when you never share your past?**__ … he was cradling her in his arms, pressing his lips to her temple, hushing her softly … __**it's not your burden to bear**__, he was trying to convince her … she was holding onto him even tighter, her voice barely audible … __**but I do bear it**__, she was confessing, her voice trembling … __**it's what we do when we love someone**__ …_

That had been the first time he had told her he loved her.

_**I love you too, Jenny**__, he was saying into her hair, holding her close … __**I just want to protect you from these things**__ … she was looking into his eyes, her own shining with a mixture of tears and pure, unadulterated joy … her argument was lost, his lips capturing hers lovingly …_

She had told him several weeks before how she felt. He had made a stupid joke. He had said: 'That'll be the day.' She had gone quiet after that and hadn't brought it up since. He remembered cursing himself afterwards, worried that she now doubted his feelings for her. So when she had said it to him again, he had made sure she knew exactly what she meant to him. He never had got around to telling her how he had gotten the Purple Heart, after all. But he brushed his memories firmly aside now, looking away from her eyes to avoid having to look at the ache in them as she relived the very same moments he had been.

"I didn't know you had a Purple Heart, Jethro," Ducky said, sounding surprised. Jethro shook himself slightly, bringing himself back to reality.

"It's not something I broadcast," he said simply, in a tone that made it perfectly clear that that was the end of the matter. "But yes, that is when I got it. I was shipped back to Washington and had to recover here. I knew the Corps wouldn't be happy about taking me back after an injury like that, and I was still grieving. Franks was the lead agent on the homicide investigation, and he let me in the loop. I stayed here and worked through the case with him; worked through my grief. After that he offered to keep me on at NCIS, and I figured it was better than being forced into retirement."

"Can you imagine if you had retired?" Abby said, eyes wide. "I'd never have been hired, or Ducky, or Tony. The Director might not be the Director, which would mean Ziva wasn't here. If Ducky hadn't been hired, Jimmy wouldn't be here. And McGee would never have been brought away from his computer. Gibbs, if it weren't for you, all of our careers might be totally different right now."

"Almost definitely would be," McGee chimed in. "I think I'd have been a tech for my entire career if I hadn't joined this team."

"Which brings us nicely back on track," Tony said swiftly. "Palmer?"

"Uh, yeah, it's your turn, McGee," Palmer agreed with a smile. McGee cleared his throat and half-shrugged, as this seemed to be the first question he could answer without embarrassment.

"Well, I've always liked computers," he said. "Really, it's as simple as that. I loved working with computers, and I found I could do it. I understood them. Computers are programmed; calculated. They don't make mistakes and there's no judgement involved. They made more sense to me than people did. At school I was always made fun of, but my teachers encouraged me to keep at it, and I did. My computing teacher thought I showed potential and he got me an application form for MIT. I wasn't sure at first, but I was, I was drawn to the idea of being somewhere that I fit in. It wouldn't be a case of standing out any more, being different – I'd be part of something. I liked the thought of being around my peers; my equals. I applied on a long shot, but they got back to me and said they'd be happy to take me. I've never regretted it."

"And how exactly did you go from an MIT graduate to an NCIS technician?" Ducky queried, his tone slightly puzzled. McGee shrugged.

"They were hiring," he said bluntly. "They were looking for computer techs to deal with new software, and they were keen to have me because I was recently graduated and had the most up-and-coming knowledge out there. Fresh perspective, I think they called it at the time. I spent a while working in the computer lab and over time started working more often out in the field, trying to train on the side. Then Gibbs offered me a full-time training position and I decided I'd rather do that, and here I am. Nice and straightforward."

"We should all be so lucky," Ziva said grimly, and Jethro and Jen both laughed a little, whether out of agreement or amusement he wasn't sure. Possibly a mixture of both.

"Well I think you've come a long way from the MIT wannabe, McGeek," DiNozzo said with a grin. The word _eighteen_ flashed through Jethro's mind. "Now you're a Probie. Trust me, it's an improvement … of some sort."

"Gee, thanks, Tony," McGee said dryly. "So, uh, is that it?"

"No, we've still to hear from Jenny," Ziva said quickly, and Jen shot her a look that Jethro couldn't quite read.

"Thanks, Ziva," she said, and the other woman inclined her head in response. "So it's my turn now then?"

"Uh, yes, please, ma'am," Palmer said with a hopeful smile. She half-smiled in his direction, but Jethro caught her eye and she made a slightly bemused face at him, and he grinned to himself. She settled herself more comfortably into her seat and took a swig of her beer, seeming to search for the right words.

"Well, like Jethro, my father was a Marine," she said, gesturing towards him with her head. "I was raised the same way as he was, to an extent. My father wasn't around much, but there were strict instructions that I was to be a good military daughter, and the nannies certainly saw to it that I was."

"What about your mother?" Abby asked curiously, and Jethro saw a brief grimace cross Jen's features. He wished he could have warned Abby not to ask.

"My mother wasn't around either," Jen said shortly. "She died when I was two."

"Oh, Director, I'm so sorry!" Abby gasped, clapping her hands over her mouth, but Jenny held up a hand in the same way as the younger woman had done earlier.

"It's fine," she assured her. "You didn't know, and why should you? Besides, it was a very long time ago. I hardly remember her. But that's not the issue here. As I was saying, I was brought up with Marines – family, friends … friends of the family. I think my father would have given anything for a son. Second-generation military was always his hope for his legacy. But evidently it wasn't to be, and he only had me. But the Navy was so much a part of my life that I couldn't imagine not being a part of it in one way or another. I had a few office jobs after college, and then I came into contact with NCIS for the first time. It was after my father had died. A couple of agents – Jethro, do you remember James Wilkinson?"

"Senior Agent on Owens' team," he nodded. "Became a team leader about eight months after I did. Good man. Killed in the line of duty in '02."

"Right," Jen said, her voice slightly quieter. "Well, he brought another agent with him – I forget his name – and they tracked me down to work one afternoon. They had a few questions about my father's work, which I couldn't answer. He never told me anything about his job. But it caught my attention. NCIS wasn't something I'd ever considered, but I certainly knew of them and what work they did. I figured it couldn't hurt to try. I put in a call to an old friend of the family to ask what he knew of the Director, and he set up a meeting. Tom – Director Morrow – said he was extremely short-staffed at the time and he'd be willing to give me a trial, despite my lack of experience. He assigned me to Mike Franks' team, starting in two months' time, under the condition that if it didn't work out I would be gone in an instant. Which was only fair: I had no crime scene experience, and as you've already heard, I wasn't great with autopsies either. But Franks walked, Jethro took over, and all of a sudden I found myself in Marseilles, undercover within three weeks of joining the agency and in way over my head. And everything's kind of spiralled since."

"Understatement of the century," Jethro muttered, but not so quietly that she didn't hear him. She glowered playfully at him across her beer.

"Wow. Your career's been a bit of a whirlwind, hasn't it?" Tony asked, looking thoughtful, and Jenny scoffed aloud.

"That's one word for it," she agreed. "I feel like I've never stopped since … well, I guess since I left Paris." She shot Jethro a guilty glance, but he ignored it. Now was not the time to dig up that particular part of their history, and they both knew it. He wasn't sure there would ever be a right time for that conversation.

"Wow," DiNozzo repeated. "But it's good, right? I mean, you've achieved so much."

"I've gotten as far as I ever hoped to and farther than I ever expected," Jen said, her tone light. Jethro knew she was trying to disguise her regrets. As hard as she tried, she had never been able to hide her true feeling from him, and right now he could see them on her face, plain as day. She loved her new job. She was proud of herself for getting this far. She felt an incredible sense of accomplishment. But she had paid the price for her success, just as everyone else had to. It was just that with her success being so much greater, the price was steeper. He felt a pang for her. She had made her choices, and they had been hers to make. But he would never want her to suffer. He wondered briefly if he was one of those regrets, and hot on the heels of that thought was the question of what sort of regret he would be. Did she regret leaving him? Did she only regret the **way** she had left him? Or worst of all, did she regret being with him at all?

"Right, bathroom break!" Abby announced cheerfully, pulling Jethro sharply away from his musings. "And when I get back, someone else better have a question, because at this rate we're all going to be doing a Gibbs and sleeping under the boat." And with that, she disappeared upstairs. Tony snorted aloud.

"That'll be us told, then."

* * *

**A/N: **Okay, that chapter was uber-Jibbs heavy. Sorry!! The muses love Jibbs and so do I ... but I am trying my best with the others. There's going to be a kind of 'intermission' in the chapter after next, halfway through the questions, and that's going to be a bit of a filler with some more ship moments I hope. It's easier to get Jibbs into the fic because it's from Gibbs' PoV, I think ... but I will keep persevering until I get it right! The next chapter was going to be Ducky's question but I'm stumped, so if anyone has suggestions get them in soon! If I can't think of anything in a day or so I'll move Ducly up until later and write someone else next. Anyway, thanks loads to all my reviewers: crazy-prune, MissJayne, Mara152, Joyce, Navona, ErikaaDiLante, Boneslvr, Lady aracne, Psycho Maddy, Eternal Optimist, Dances With Passion, Sora Livana, Harknessgirl, Lost in Romance, JenShepard87, kim, MrsJenniferGibbs, primroselh, aserene, rosebud26, Alwaysand, InfinityMissingReason, Sass, Caf Pow, MASH mad, Wizard-in-Disguise, I love Flack, and Horsegrad13! It's great to see so many new readers :D

Just a couple of short comments tonight:

Caf Pow - hahaha, I think Diane the monster is so fun!! Great minds indeed ;)

InfinityMissingReason - Cairo stories are going to come up a bit later on, I promise you, you'll hear at least one :)

Navona - Abby and Ziva will have their moment, not to worry! (not in a slash way tho, strictly as friends! sort of friends, anyway ...)

Thanks again to everyone, and once again, my apologies for the delay. What could I do? Update in French? Sure that would have gone over REAL well ... As usual, let me know what you think and keep the ideas rolling in!

Alison xxx


	5. Why do we do what we do?

**Title:** Getting To Know You  
**Author:** CruorLuna (Alison)  
**Rating:** T, for now. May change later!  
**Category:** NCIS: Naval Criminal Investigative Service  
**Genre:** Humour, slight romance  
**Pairings:** Lots of innuendo for Jibbs, and a few for McAbby and Tiva as well, but nothing concrete as yet. Don't be surprised if it gets romantic in later chapters though.  
**Characters:** Gibbs, Jen, Tony, Ziva, Abby, McGee, Ducky, Jimmy  
**Summary:** Abby wants the team to spend some 'quality time' together. Abby being Abby, this results in the investigators and co playing a truth telling game in Gibbs' basement. The past will be revealed, truths told, and surprises are in store for everyone concerned.

**Disclaimer:** The plot bunnies are mine! The majority of the past stories, I mean – some ideas may have been taken from one-liners and suchlike things referenced in the series, but the rest is down to me.

**A/N:** Thanks tons to my reviewers – I really do appreciate all your feedback and ideas! Comments/thanks at the end, as always ;) And, as ever, I'd love to hear what you think.

Now, I have a question to put to you all. I received a PM from a reader suggesting that I write oneshots of some of the memories I've written about, going into greater detail etc, and I'm not sure what I think. I've put enough thought into the situations to write them, I reckon, but I'm not sure how much interest there would be given that you already know what happens! I'd love some feedback before I start writing anything – and if you are interested, maybe suggest your fave memories? If you prefer to PM it to me, that's okay too. I'd appreciate it tons, and thanks in advance. And now on with the chapter!

* * *

"Do you think Abby was serious?"

"Trust me, Palmer, she was deadly serious," Jethro assured him. "And she's got a point, too. Have you checked the time lately?"

"Don't tell me you've actually started sleeping, Jethro?" Jen said sarcastically, one eyebrow raised, and he rolled his eyes in her direction.

"Not likely," he responded.

"I don't understand it. How can you live on almost no sleep?" Ziva demanded, looking slightly frustrated. "It can't be healthy, Gibbs. And it's far too cold to sleep down here!"

"Don't worry about it, Ziva," DiNozzo smirked. "If we do end up having to spend the night, I'll keep you warm."

"Oh, thank you, Tony – I feel **so** much better now," she snapped right back, and Jethro had to hide his smile. They reminded him a little of Jen and himself when they were younger. Except that he had never been as much of a habitual flirt as DiNozzo was. He had always been a one-woman-at-a-time sort of guy … even if he did tend to take things a little further than necessary. But then he frowned slightly as another thought entered his mind – if Tony and Ziva really were the present-day equivalent of Jenny and Jethro, didn't that mean a relationship would soon be in the works? Now there was a thought he was not at all happy with.

"Well, I aim to please," Tony said with a cocky grin, and Ziva threw a handful of chips at him in response.

"So has somebody got something or do I need to break out the whip?" Abby's voice floated down from the top of the stairs, and McGee's face turned chalk-white. DiNozzo snorted.

"Abs, you're scaring the Probie and the Autopsy gremlin," he called up to her, and Jethro turned to verify. Sure enough, Palmer was gaping at the top of the stairs, his eyes wide and unblinking and his jaw sitting somewhere just above the concrete flooring. Abby bounded down the stairs two at a time with a cheeky grin and settled herself back into her space, patting McGee on the head.

"Aw, Timmy!" she said with a false pout. "Abby won't let anything happen to you."

"He looks comforted," Ziva murmured in Tony's ear, only just loud enough for Jethro to hear. Abby's eyebrows shot into her hairline and she glowered.

"Something to say, Ziva?" she demanded, looking defensive, and Ziva winced slightly.

"It was a joke, Abby," she said. "Just a joke."

"I like jokes."

"Abs!" Jethro said, exasperated. He knew Abby and Kate had been close, and that she saw Ziva as a replacement, but the truth was that the two couldn't be much more different. It was hard to get used to having someone new around instead of Kate, but Ziva had proven herself trustworthy, and he didn't want there to be tension in the office.

"What?" Abby asked, putting on her best innocent face. Jethro shot her a look.

'**Cool it**,' he signed across the boat, and she merely raised her eyebrows.

'**I didn't do anything**,' she protested. He took a drink of his beer before continuing, ignoring Jen's gaze upon him. He knew she was following the conversation.

'**Exactly**,' he responded, keeping his eyes trained on hers. '**You could at least make a bit of an effort. She hasn't done anything to you**.'

'**She's not Kate, Gibbs**.'

'**That's not her fault**,' he bit straight back at her. Tony's gaze was flickering between them, his eyes intense, as though he thought he might miraculously start understanding sign language if he stared hard enough. It was actually highly comical. Abby frowned for a moment before answering him.

'**You really like her as much as you liked Kate?**' she asked, and he sighed internally.

'**You can't compare them like that**.'

'**Well do you trust her?**' she pushed, her gaze determined.

'**With my life**,' Jethro replied honestly, and Abby's eyebrows rose even higher. She turned to Jenny and asked her the same question, and Jen surveyed her thoughtfully for a few seconds.

'**Ziva's a damn good agent**,' she answered finally. '**And I trust her explicitly. And she's a good person too, Abby. You can't blame her for taking Agent Todd's place. If you want to blame anybody for that, blame me**.'

"Are you talking about me?" DiNozzo demanded, and Jethro snorted.

"Get over yourself, DiNozzo." He then looked back towards Abby, who was still regarding Jen with a strange expression on her face. She then looked back at Jethro looking slightly guilty.

'**I guess it wouldn't kill me to try**,' she signed eventually. He smiled a little, and Abby turned her gaze back onto Ziva, who was watching her apprehensively. Abby took a deep breath. "Sorry, Ziva," she said aloud. Everyone in the room gaped at her.

"Oh!" Ziva looked pleasantly surprised. "It, uh, it isn't a problem, Abby."

"Okay …" Abby cleared her throat uncomfortably, and Jethro smiled at her, and then at Jen. He appreciated her help. Abby then glanced sideways at Jen as well and raised her hands again. '**I don't blame you, for what it's worth**,' she signed, and Jenny smiled gratefully.

"Thank you, Abby," she said out loud. "I appreciate that."

"Appreciate what?" Tony pressed, looking agitated, and Jen threw him a withering look.

"She offered to lend me her chains to keep you at your desk for the next month, DiNozzo," she shot at him, and everyone in the room let out loud whoops of laughter. Tony's jaw hit the ground and he gaped at his boss as though he couldn't believe his ears. Jethro merely took another sip of his beer. He had asked for that one. Abby, who was laughing harder than anybody else, reached across the sprawling bodies and grabbed Jen by the hand, shaking it vigorously for the second time that night.

"You are officially my idol," she said with a grin, and Jen inclined her head towards her with a laugh. DiNozzo continued to gape.

"Did you really say that, Abs?" he questioned, his voice a little raspy. Abby shrugged.

"I guess you'll never know, Tony," she said mysteriously, and he glared at her.

"You wouldn't really do that to him, would you, Director?" McGee asked, and Jen smiled calmly in his direction.

"Wouldn't I?" she asked mildly, but with a challenge in her tone that could be easily missed by anyone who didn't know her as well as Jethro did. He was really glad not to be DiNozzo right now.

"So, who had a question?" Abby asked, looking around her pointedly, and Ducky cleared his throat with a slight smile.

"I think I'd like to ask mine now," he said. "I have a feeling things are going to get a little bizarre in here later, so I'd like to get mine in first, if nobody minds."

"You think it's going to get more bizarre than church bonfires and bunny birthmarks?" Tony asked, raising one eyebrow suggestively. "Something you know that we don't, Ducky?"

"Not necessarily, Anthony. I just have suspicions." Jethro felt a muscle tighten in his jaw as Ducky's gaze flitted almost imperceptibly over Jen and himself. It was certainly true – he was dreading whatever question she came up with, and he knew they would have to keep being very careful how much they revealed about their past. But this was most certainly not helping.

"All right, so what do you want to know, Ducky?" McGee asked, and Ducky smiled again.

"Well, I was rather intrigued by Mr Palmer's question," he explained. "It got me to thinking about our careers. Why do we do what we do? It was very interesting. It left me wondering, how did we all know it was worth it?"

"What do you mean, Ducky?" Jen asked, crinkling her nose in confusion. Jethro found himself grinning in spite of himself. He had always thought she was cute when she did that. Then he chastised himself internally – under no circumstances was he allowed to call Jennifer Shepard, Director of NCIS, cute. Particularly not when she was armed, but he had no doubt she could still cause him plenty of bodily harm without the aid of her SIG.

"I'd like to know about the first time you were totally confident that you had made the right decision, Jennifer," the Medical Examiner explained. "When was the first time you truly felt that you touched someone's life? When did you first feel like you had made a difference? When did it all become more than just a job?"

"That's actually a really good question," Tony commented, and Ducky chuckled.

"No need to sound so surprised, my boy!"

"All right, so who's first then, Ducky?" Ziva asked, and the Doctor smiled at her gratefully. Jethro resisted the urge to do the same. It was nice that she was becoming more comfortable in the group.

"Oh, I really don't have a preference," he shrugged. "You can all battle it out amongst yourselves."

"Can I pick?" Abby piped up immediately, an innocent expression on her face. Ducky let out an exaggerated sigh, but shot her an indulgent sigh.

"Very well, my dear," he said. "You may choose for me."

"All right!" she grinned. "Okay, uh … Director Shepard?" Jenny started slightly, appearing surprised to be picked first, and cleared her throat.

"Uh, all right …" She frowned a little, seeming to lose herself in her thoughts, and then her face hardened slightly. Jethro sat up a little straighter, bracing himself. This couldn't be good. "I guess I have to start a little further back than the case itself. When I joined NCIS, as I already said, it wasn't out of any great desire to be an investigator. It sounded like it would be interesting, and I never expected it to turn into such a huge part of my life. For a while, it was all about getting the job done. I know that sounds heartless, but it's the truth. I was thrown in at the deep end, learning new skills every day, trying to memorise forty-seven rules that weren't in any handbook in existence … and we were working undercover. Mostly we were on stakeout and tailing duty. There wasn't much call for compassion, and so, I didn't have much of it myself."

"What changed?" Palmer asked curiously. Jenny took a deep breath.

"We were called upon to run an investigation about three miles outside of Paris," she said, and Jethro's chest tightened. He remembered the case well. "A US marine was stationed in one of the suburbs there, and we were close enough by that Director Morrow agreed to let NCIS handle the case. Gunny Dawson had a daughter named Aimee. She was only seven years old."

"She wasn't … killed?" McGee asked in a hushed voice, and Jen shook her head from side to side, her face ducked low.

"No," she whispered. "No … she was raped."

"No!" Abby gasped, and a glance around the room showed Jethro that everyone there found the situation as horrific as he had at the time. He was proud of them. They faced horrors day in and day out in their line of work, but he **never** wanted his team to accept despicable crimes like those as commonplace. It was the shock that kept them going sometimes, through the harder cases, and he didn't want them to lose the motivation to put animals like child abusers behind bars.

"That's sick," Tony said vehemently, his face contorted with anger.

"It's more than sick," Jenny agreed, her voice slightly choked, whether with anger or tears Jethro couldn't be sure. Maybe both. "It's completely depraved. I wish I'd had a chance to shoot the bastard."

"My dear, if this is going to be too painful for you, I'd rather you didn't force yourself to relive this," Ducky said gently. She met his gaze with a sad smile.

"I'm not upset for me, Ducky," she said quietly. "It was Aimee I ached for then. I still do now. She was too young to fully understand what was going on. All she knew was that she had been hurt by someone she trusted, which must make it okay. God, there were times I wanted to pick her up and take her home with us, just to keep her safe."

"But you got the guy, right?" Palmer questioned, and Jethro sighed to himself. Yes, they had gotten the guy … eventually. But not before the case had done significant damage to his partner.

_He was crouched outside the bedroom door, concentrating on what he was doing … the door was swinging open, the mutilated paperclip dropping, forgotten, to the ground … he was crossing the room and kneeling beside the bed … __**it's not fair**__, his lover was cursing through her tears … __**it's just not fair**__ … he was pulling her arms from where they were hugging her knees, drawing her into his embrace … __**we're going to get this guy**__, he was promising her, stroking her hair tenderly … __**we're going to nail the bastard to the wall, Jen**__ … she was shaking her head, her eyes hollow as they met his own … __**and then what, Jethro?**__ she was asking … __**what happens to Aimee then?**__ … he was holding her closer to him, tracing circles on her back … __**she moves on,**__ he was telling her, trying to convince himself as well … __**we all move on**__ … she was resting her head on his shoulder, tears spilling onto his shirt … he knew she knew he didn't have all the answers … __**we'll figure something out**__, he was finding himself promising her … __**I don't know how, but we'll do something, Jenny**__ … she was smiling sadly at his attempts to help … __**thank you,**__ she was murmuring … he was trying … all he could do was try …_

"We did," Jenny said now, drawing Jethro away from his memories. "We nailed him to the wall." Jethro shot her a sharp glance, and in the brief moment she caught his eye, he was able to read in her gaze that she had been remembering the same conversation he had.

"Good for you, Jenny," Ziva said resolutely. "I hope you made him suffer, although I suspect that NCIS does not allow you to actually nail suspects to walls."

"Unfortunately not," Tony said, his voice tinged with bitterness. Ziva shot him a surprised look, and he coughed slightly. "Sorry," he amended, "that was harsh. I just … I hate anyone who hurts another human being, but a child? It really makes me want to –"

"We know, DiNozzo," Jethro assured him, cutting him off before he could make any too-graphic threats. "We all feel the same."

"Yeah, Tony, we're all in the same boat," Abby said, a smirk on her lips. Jethro rolled his eyes, McGee, Palmer and Ducky all laughed, Ziva and Jenny exchanged glances, and Tony let out a groan.

"Oh, Abby, that was **painful**," he whined.

"Sorry," she giggled. "I couldn't resist! You have to admit, this was a pun waiting to happen."

"She has a point," Ducky conceded with a chuckle. "Really, whose idea was it to hold this gathering in Jethro's basement, anyway?"

"Mine," Abby defended. "Gibbs is the boss-man! It was only fair."

"Fair, it may be, but practical, it is not," Ducky responded. "However, I must admit, it was a very good idea, Abigail. Now, excuse us for interrupting, Jennifer. You were saying you had caught the man responsible?"

"Yes," Jenny said softly, her eyes clouding over. "It was Gunnery Sergeant Dawson."

"The girl's father?!" McGee exclaimed, and there were gasps of outrage around the room. Jethro closed his eyes for a moment, remembering how angry he had been. It seemed Jenny was thinking the same thing, as she looked directly at him when she answered Tim.

"Yes," she said again. "We were just as furious as you are, Agent McGee. Some of us handled it better than others, though …"

"He had it coming," Jethro said bluntly, and all eyes swivelled onto him.

"What'd you do, boss?" DiNozzo asked, eyebrows raised. Jethro looked pointedly in the other direction, so Jen answered for him.

"Broke his arm," she replied. "In three places."

"He was trying to resist arrest."

"And the bloody nose?" Everyone continued to watch him as he weighed his options. He could try to excuse himself, or he could just be honest. Eventually he just shrugged.

"Eh … that one was just for me," he confessed, and there was a wave of laughter throughout the basement. Jenny shot him a particularly amused look but kept her mouth shut. He wasn't sure he wanted to know what other personal revenges she was remembering him taking over the years.

"Well, I think it sounds like he got off lightly," Tony said firmly. "So that's why you felt like you'd made a difference, Director? Seeing him put behind bars?"

"Actually, that came later," Jen said thoughtfully. "It was about a month later, and the target we were following was on the move, so we were being sent to Madrid. Before we went to the airport, I asked if we could stop by Aimee's aunt and uncle's home, where she was staying. We went by to check up on her and, well, say goodbye, and she … she gave me the biggest hug, and she called me a superhero."

"Aww!" Abby and McGee said in unison, and for once Tony held his tongue and didn't make fun of Tim, for which Jethro was grateful. He mentally lowered his head slap tally from eighteen to twelve. Jenny smiled slightly, blinking furiously.

"That was when I knew," she murmured. "It was an incredible feeling, knowing that I had made such a difference in Aimee's life. Well – we both had," she corrected, shooting an apologetic glance Jethro's way, but he waved his hand dismissively. He had never grudged her those moments with the girl. He knew how much it had meant to her to have helped a child who couldn't stand up for herself, and would never have taken that away from her. Jenny smiled gratefully. "I'd never been so glad to have been there for someone. I decided then that I wanted to be able to help more people … and I hope I have done."

"You have," Jethro said instantly, and Ziva nodded.

"It's true, Jenny," she agreed. "I've always thought you were very good with the victims. I don't know how to talk to them, but you're very … sympathetic? I think."

"Thank you, Ziva … I think," Jenny answered with a small laugh. "Anyway, that's my piece."

"Thank you, Jennifer," Ducky said, watching her with an admiring smile. "That can't have been easy for you to talk about, when it was such an upsetting case, but it was very good of you to share with us. And for what it's worth, I agree with Jethro and Ziva. You've touched a lot of people's lives. Why, I can name three of those people in this room alone."

"I appreciate that, Ducky," Jenny said with a slight nod. "So … who next, Abby?"

"Oh, right." Abby seemed to shake herself slightly, watching Jen carefully. "Uh, I don't really know now. I'm sorry if I pushed you, Director."

"Not at all," the other woman assured her. Abby nodded, seeming happier.

"Okay," she agreed. "Well, uh, how about … Timmy! You go." McGee looked around him uncomfortably, then he cleared his throat and mumbled something indistinct.

"What was that, Probie?" Tony asked loudly, and Tim cringed.

"I said, free pass," he repeated a little louder, and Tony frowned at him, as did Abby. She grabbed his arm to get his attention, pouting.

"What do you mean, free pass?" she demanded, her eyes wide. "Timmy!"

"No, Abs," he said steadily. "I get to opt out of answering one question, and I pick this one. That's what we agreed."

"Jeez, McGeek, I could understand if it was something embarrassing, but this is an easy one!" Tony threw in with a sneer. Jethro frowned slightly. He couldn't think of any reason why Tim wouldn't want to answer the question, but he knew the younger man must have his reasons.

"Next, then?" he asked quietly, but he was ignored.

"I just don't want to answer it, and that's my choice, Tony!" McGee snapped.

"What is the big deal, McGee?" Abby asked, her voice rising slightly. "You act like you've got some major secret to hide."

"I don't have a major secret, Abby, I just – I don't feel like talking about it, okay?"

"But –"

"Hey!" Jethro called, bringing silence to the group. He fixed DiNozzo with his best 'Gibbs stare' and shot Abby a warning glance. "He said he doesn't wanna talk about it. Next?"

"But Gibbs …" Abby said in a pleading sort of tone, and he sighed aloud.

"Fine then, I'll go, shall I?" he interrupted. He cared for Abby deeply, and he knew she didn't want to hurt McGee, but some things were best left to lie. She shrugged, seeming to know she had been beaten, and a moment later her grin had returned.

"I love hearing stories about you as a Probie, Gibbs," she smirked, and he rolled his eyes.

"Not very exciting, trust me, Abs," he assured her.

"What happened, boss?" McGee asked curiously. Jethro took a deep breath, reminding himself that he was doing this for Abby. He couldn't tell them the whole truth, but they were his team. He could trust them with a little of his past.

"I told you about the person close to me who died," he said, and there were nods all around. "That was when I joined NIS. It wasn't my case, officially, but I was involved every step of the way. Franks was good to me that way. I was never meant to come face to face with the killer ... technically. Turns out he'd fled to Mexico anyway. Mike could never prosecute."

"No extradition," Tony supplied. Gibbs nodded shortly.

"Exactly. I took some time out after the case was wrapped up. Had a little holiday ... south of the border. Anyway, suffice it to say, I found the closure I needed."

"I take it this was all, ah ... off-the-record, Jethro?" Ducky asked with a small, sad smile, and Jethro shrugged.

"What record?" he returned, and there were a few chuckles. "When I came back home, the mother of my .. friend, got in touch. Wanted to see me, see how I was doing, talk things through. At first I wasn't going to go, but in the end I figured I'd already let her down once. The least I owed her was a cup of coffee."

"I'm sure you didn't let anyone down," Jen said softly, but he chose not to reply.

"When we met up, it was hard for both of us," he said, struggling to find the words. How could he explain the overwhelming guilt he had experienced; the grief that had consumed him the second he looked into Rebecca's eyes, so like her daughter's? "Really hard. But I knew she needed to lean on me more than I needed anything from her, so I stayed as long as she wanted me there. I talked about my little ... holiday. It seemed to make her feel better. She found closure then too, and I'd been able to give that to her. It was a good feeling, knowing I'd helped, even if it was too little too late. It was part of the reason I took Mike up on his offer to work at NIS." The room had fallen silent as he spoke, and he felt distinctly uncomfortable as he finished. He wasn't a fan of being the centre of attention at the best of times, and this was no exception.

"Gibbs ..." Abby said sadly. "That ... that's really sweet. I bet your friend's mother never blamed you for anything at all, and she's probably been eternally grateful to you for clearing everything up."

"Yeah, boss," DiNozzo chimed in. "She probably really appreciated it."

"I know I would have," added Tim. Jenny didn't say a word, but her hand found Jethro's on the floor between them and gave a small squeeze. They had never really needed words.

"That was very enlightening, Jethro," Ducky acknowledged with a small nod, his eyes saying the words his mouth didn't. He was glad his friend had opened up. Truth be told, Gibbs was secretly glad too. He knew he kept things bottled up too much, and it was good to know his team would listen if he ever **really** needed them to.

"So ... next?"Abby asked uncertainly.

"Of course, my dear," the doctor said with a smile. "Choose away."

"Okay, uh ..." the Goth seemed to ponder, looking around her thoughtfully. "How about you, Jimmy?"

"Sure," Palmer said with a smile. His confidence seemed to be improving by the hour, and Jethro silently praised Ducky for thinking to invite him along. Even if it didn't succeed in integrating him into the team, it would certainly do wonders for him in terms of social skills.

"So what was it, Palmer?" Tony grinned. "First time Ducky left you alone with a body?"

"Uh, no, not exactly," the other man replied, but he seemed less bothered by the teasing than normal. "It was when I was working as a first-year intern, before I decided it wasn't for me and came here. I, uh, I got stuck with the more disgusting jobs, but I didn't mind ... which is probably why they kept giving them to me, now I think about it. Anyway, there was one day they had me watching over a boy of about twelve ... Luke, that was his name. He was dying."

"What was wrong with him?" Ziva asked quietly.

"Uh, leukaemia," Jimmy said sadly. "He was brought in for his last few days. He couldn't cope at home any more, and neither could his parents. He was with us for over a week, although we never figured out how he survived that long. Cruel, really. He was, he was in a lot of pain, and coughing up blood, and ... well, anyway, it wasn't pretty. When he eventually did, uh, pass on, I was the one to find him. One of the other interns passed just as I was checking for a pulse, and told me to move him out and free up the bed."

"That's awful!" Abby exclaimed.

"Well, I thought so," agreed Palmer. "I was just going to ignore it. But Luke's parents overheard. Their son had just died, and they thought the doctors ... well, they were pretty upset. So I went to the supervisor and asked if Luke could be moved to a more private room to give his family a chance to say goodbye. When I explained why, he said yes. His parents were so grateful. They, uh, they said I'd really impressed them, and that they owed me for being one of the few truly kind doctors out there. I knew then that I could still help people after they died, even if I wasn't totally comfortable dealing with them while they were still alive." Jethro raised his eyebrows as he took a drink. The 'autopsy gremlin' continued to surprise him, not that he would ever admit that.

"Good on you, Jimmy," Tim said with a smile.

"You did right by him," Jenny added, and Palmer flushed bright red at the praise from the new Director. "It was a good deed. His parents would have appreciated it."

"Thank you, ma'am," Palmer mumbled, ducking his head. Abby grinned and ruffled his hair, much like a sister might to a younger brother ... except that Abby had tortured her brother when she was younger, Gibbs remembered. Probably still did, actually.

"Way to go, Palmer," she said with her trademark beam. "I'm impressed. Now, why don't we hear from our resident assassin? Ziva? What made being a cold-hearted killer worthwhile?" Ziva raised an eyebrow, and Jethro rolled his eyes.

"I only do what I was trained to do, Abby," the Israeli responded calmly. "A job is a job. I did not join Mossad with the intention of killing everyone I met. But to answer the question, it was never the killing that made me feel good about my job. I had to do the filthy work for a time, to prove myself, until I was considered good enough to take on other assignments instead."

"Dirty work," Tony interrupted, and Ziva looked at him blankly.

"What?"

"The expression," he explained. "It's 'dirty work,' not 'filthy.'"

"But is 'filthy' not just another word for 'dirty'?" she asked confusedly.

"Well, yeah, but ... never mind."

"English," Ziva muttered, rolling her eyes. "Anyway, I did what I had to do to get to where I wanted to be. I refuse to regret that. I worked hard, until my superiors decided that I had proven myself worthy of promotion to control officer. I had my own team of ..."

"Crazy ninjas?" Tony supplied with a smirk, and Ziva glared at him. _Back to fifteen_, Jethro thought with a sigh.

"Operatives," Ziva retorted. "I had to train them – teach them to defend themselves against any enemy, to always be alert ... to do what **they** had to do to be taken seriously in Mossad. About two months after my promotion, the first of my team was sent into the field. His name was Noah. His target was high-profile, but we were low on trained officers, and I thought he was ready. He did not disappoint me."

"So your satisfaction came from knowing you had successfully trained a new generation of killers," Jimmy grinned, then faltered. "That, uh, that came out wrong –"

"The man Noah killed was a known Hamas operative," Ziva said flatly. "He had passed information from inside Mossad for over five years before he was caught, and somehow he escaped. We later discovered that he was at least partially responsible for the death of a Moroccan waiter in Lillehammer."

"Norway?" McGee checked, and Ziva nodded.

"Yes," she replied. "Mossad suffered dearly for that mistake, partly by his doing. We cannot prove whether it was also his mistake, or his trickery, but he has done far worse. He deserved to die. Upon his body, we discovered traces of explosives, which we were able to trace back to a warehouse. Over seventy Hamas agents were found that day, and we uncovered plans for several suicide bombings, in highly populated areas. One was in the centre o the market in Tel Aviv. Noah saved thousands of lives that day, with that one well placed bullet. Small price to pay, no?"

"That's actually a very good point, my dear," Ducky admitted thoughtfully.

"In Mossad, they do not teach us to 'make a difference,' the way your law enforcement does," Ziva confessed. "They train us to work hard, fight hard, and kill hard. I have never felt proud of killing another human being, although they all deserved it. But when I saw Noah succeed in taking a known terrorist from the streets, it felt good. I knew I had helped to make that happen; I had taught someone else how to protect their country. My country. I felt I **had** made a difference, and that was something I had never expected to feel. It was then that I knew I had done the right thing in joining Mossad."

"But you left," Abby said, frowning. "If you were so convinced Mossad was the right place for you, then ... why are you here?" Ziva caught Jethro's eye for a moment, silently thanking him in advance for not saying anything about Ari. He knew she would never forgive herself for that kill, even if she could for the rest.

"I love my country, Abby," Ziva said aloud. "But I have no interest in politics, in international affairs. My father wanted me to move up in Mossad – he thinks I am too reckless in the field. I have never loved my desk. But promotion is not an offer, it is an honour, and I was expected to take on the responsibility 'for the greater good.' I would not have done well in that job. Besides, my father needed a liaison in the United States, and my English, despite what Tony may think, is better than most of my colleagues'. And, of course, I already knew Jenny," she added, nodding towards the other woman.

"I can certainly agree with your father that you can be reckless," Jenny said with a knowing smile. "But you always got the job done ... one way or another. Eli didn't appreciate the asset he had in the field, but I did. We're lucky to have you."

"Thank you," Ziva said gratefully. "Does that answer your question, Ducky?"

"It most certainly does!" he agreed. "Thank you, Ziva. It really was very interesting – for me, at least. Next, Abigail?"

"How about you, Tony?" she grinned. Tony straightened up, looking sombre.

"All right," he said, his voice even. "I'm just going to say it quickly, because it's not something anyone likes to think about. When I was working in Baltimore about ... nine years ago now, I guess, I pulled the Christmas Eve shift. Awful night – far too many whack jobs out there ruining everyone's holidays. Worst shift of the year, hands down. We got a call about a man at a hotel downtown, out on the ledge, threatening to jump. He didn't have any demands, he just claimed he wanted to die. Not something anybody should go through at Christmas. And it was a long, long night – he was out there for almost four hours."

"He took that long to make up his mind?" Tim asked, surprised.

"Well, statistically, Timothy, a very small percentage of attempted suicides are by people who actually want to die," Ducky informed him. "The vast majority of cases are merely lonely people, depressed people, attention seekers and the like. It's a very sad state of affairs, but some people really want to live, but feel that their only option is to die."

"Well, this guy was hanging around for something," DiNozzo agreed. "I don't even know if he knew what that was. We went down there, and we cleared the area, got his name – you know, followed procedure for those situations. But the negotiator had car trouble. He couldn't get out to the scene, and we couldn't get a hold of anyone else quickly enough. I figured the guy could use a friendly ear, so I made like I was going for a coffee, weaselled a key from cleaning staff and went in there."

"Tony!" Abby gasped aloud. "That was dangerous! If he really wanted to die, he could have had a knife, or, or a gun!"

"In which case, what was he doing on his window ledge, Abs? No, I didn't think he was dangerous. He was scared. Scared he had nothing left to live for, but even more scared to die. The guy needed someone to talk to. So I went to the window, talked to him, tried to convince him there were other options ... as with most suicides, he didn't believe me."

"He was despairing." Jen's voice was hoarse, and although nobody else seemed to notice it, Jethro picked up on the pain running through her words. She had had far too much experience of suicide. "He had lost hope. Didn't know how else to cope, so he took the coward's way out. He thought that by dying, he could end his pain for good." Everyone was staring at her by now, and Jethro reached out unsurely and brushed the back of her hand with his, repeating her gesture of support from earlier. She turned her hand over and squeezed his fingers tightly for just a moment, her facial muscles taut and her eyes cloudy.

"Are you okay, Director?" McGee asked concernedly. Jenny nodded mutely, not seeming to trust herself to speak again. Abby's face had fallen, and her eyes were compassionate. In one swift move, she managed to lean across the tangle of legs in the middle of the group and envelop the older woman in her arms. Jenny started slightly, looking up into the Goth's face as she pulled away.

"Sorry," Abby said. "You just looked like you needed a hug, and I like hugging people. If you ever need a hug, you know, just come down to the lab – or even call me, and I'll come to you! Because, you know, everyone needs hugs sometimes and they don't always know who they can go to, but I will always hug you if you need it, and sometimes even if you don't need it but you want it, or if you just don't mind – but, if you do mind, I don't have to hug you, you can tell me not to and –"

"Abby," Jethro said quietly, and she fell silent.

"Sorry," she repeated. "I tend to keep talking until somebody stops me."

"Duly noted," Jenny said with a nod and a smile. Jethro kept one eye on her as she leant forward and patted Abby's hand reassuringly. "I promise that if I ever want – or don't want – to be hugged, I will tell you."

"Okay, good," Abby agreed with a relieved smile, crawling backwards into her own space.

"DiNozzo," Gibbs prompted, keeping his voice low. "Finish your story."

"Uh ..." Tony was watching the Director with a mixture of concern, confusion and appreciation, but he shook himself at the sound of his boss' voice. "Right, boss ... anyway, the Director was spot on. The guy thought his situation was hopeless. I stayed with him for three and a half hours, rambling about movies and music and football and – well, anything that kept him talking, really. I was running low on material, when a woman showed up at the bedroom door, asking to see him. She was his ex-girlfriend. Turns out he had gotten depressed after she left him – that was why he was so low. She saw him on the news, felt bad, realised she cared, and ... well, you know the rest. The negotiator told me that keeping him talking probably kept him alive, long enough for him to find a reason to stay that way. It felt good, knowing I saved them both from heartache. Almost made the rest of the Christmas Eve shift bearable."

"That was very charitable of you, Tony," Ziva said with a rare, genuine smile. If Jethro hadn't known better, he would have sworn DiNozzo actually **blushed**. He was really going to have to make sure the next rule Ziva learned was number twelve.

"That was nice, DiNozzo," McGee agreed, and the others all murmured their assent. Tony half-smiled, and Jethro was proud to notice that he kept one eye on Jenny as he replied.

"It was the least I could do," he answered. "You can't help 'em all, but sometimes there's one you can save. Makes it all worthwhile."

"You've never said a truer word, Tony," Ducky said with a small smile. "I must say, I'm feeling very ... proud, of all of you. You all know exactly what this job is really about, and you don't seem to have forgotten why it's important that we do what we do. I really am very impressed."

"Thanks, Doctor Mallard," Jimmy said.

"Thank you, Ducky," Jenny nodded, and the doctor returned it with a knowing look in his eye.

"What was your first eye-opener, Ducky?" Abby asked, regarding him interestedly.

"Well, actually, I've had many over the years," Ducky began thoughtfully. "There has been more than one occasion where I've been reminded of yet another reason why I continue to do what I do, and the list is ever-growing. But I think the main reason I like my work – aside from the excellent, excellent company I keep, naturally – has changed over the years. Where at first I was proud to be offering some dignity to the dead, I now take solace in the knowledge that I can help to bring them, and their families, justice. And the moment I realised that was, I think, the very first time I discovered it!"

"Your first NIS case," Jethro said with a half-smile, and Ducky nodded.

"Yes," he concurred. "My very first day after leaving Bethesda, and my first cadaver of the morning, turned out to be the victim of a serial killer. A most violent predator, as I recall – he liked to perform his own brand of autopsy ... before his victim was fully dead."

"He autopsied them alive?" Tony asked, looking revolted.

"Yes, but just barely. You see, he would torture his victims, and I do mean torture – he beat them to a pulp, using all variety of weapons, and then poisoned them, inflicting upon them the most horrendous hallucinations, designed to drive them to within an inch of their sanity. A most disturbed mind – and he was only twenty-two."

"That's ..."

"... despicable," McGee finished Abby's sentence for her, and she nodded vehemently.

"It is rather," Ducky agreed, sighing. "And during the mutilation that he called an autopsy, he took to engraving his initials upon his victims' hearts. Most unorthodox, and highly disturbing, to say the least. My poor corpse, a beautiful young blonde, had not been tortured. She was raped, and then stabbed repeatedly. Once dead, her upper torso was slashed to pieces. We would never have made the connection, even after the autopsy, had I not been extra thorough that day – what with wanting to make a good impression on my first day, and whatnot. I conducted a full autopsy ... and then I looked everywhere we normally wouldn't bother. Normal practice when weighing organs is to weigh the left lung, which I had done, but I thought it prudent to check them both. It was then that I discovered it."

"His calling card?" Ziva queried.

"Same killer, new method," Ducky confirmed. "He had carved his initials rather smaller than was his wont, and behind her right lung. After slashing her chest, he must have peeled back the organs and –"

"Okay, I think we've got it, Ducky," Jenny intervened swiftly, her skin looking suspiciously grey to Jethro. She never had been good with autopsies.

"Oh, of course – my apologies, my dear," the older man chuckled. "Well anyway, when Agent Franks and Jethro finally did bring the man in, we were able to count her among his victims. Her family found peace they might never have been able to discover, had I not been keen to be thorough on my first day. I was pleased that I had been able to offer them that, and it is that feeling that keeps me going in this job."

"It was a good catch," Jethro nodded. "We wouldn't have connected her to him without you, Duck. That girl's family **do** owe you their peace of mind."

"Well, thank you, Jethro," Ducky replied. "But anyway, I've been in this job for a long time, and I will never forget that first save, so to speak."

"Wow," Abby said, gaping at him. "You guys have all done so much good!"

"As have you, my dear!" he answered with a gentle smile. "And I do believe you are the last one. Would you care to share with us your moment of enlightenment?"

"I would be honoured," Abby grinned. "But it's really nowhere near as interesting as that!"

"Come on, Abs, we're interested," Tim encouraged her, and she smiled at him.

"Thanks," she told him. "Well, it was about two months after I came to NCIS before I had mine. I always loved my job!" she hastened to add, "but I had just never really thought about the whole 'making a difference to people's lives' thing, until then. I was just a scientist, you know, doing my thing, partying with Major Mass Spec and churning out the results as the samples came through. But then it happened. My nightmare came true. I was subpoenaed! I had to go to court. I hate court! I was really angry, too, because it was the day they were redoing our IDs to tie in with the new security regulations. And I really hate court – I never show anyone my ID if I can help it now – I was wearing a monkey suit, **and** glasses! Did I mention I really, **really** hate court?"

"Think we got that, Abs," Tony informed her, and she grinned.

"Right. Sorry. Anyway, I got up there and gave my testimony, just told it like it was, letting the science do the convicting. And it did – the guy got twenty-five to life for multiple homicides. Afterwards I ducked into the bathroom and changed, because I really hated my shoes, and when I came out of the stalls, there was a woman with a baby washing her hands. She just came over and gave me this really enormous hug," Abby smiled reminiscently. "It turned out her husband – the baby's father – had been one of the guy's victims, and she had come to watch. She saw my testimony put him behind bars, and she told me she would be eternally grateful. It was the first time I felt like I was doing more than just chilling with the Major in the lab ... and I really liked how it made me feel. Like I was actually doing some real good through science, you know? I mean, I may not be curing cancer, or anything, but I did feel for the first time like I was helping people. And I figure that's what science is all about."

"Good for you, Abby," Tim smiled. "Honestly – I think it's great."

"Thanks, Timmy."

"Thank you, Abby – thank you all!" Ducky said graciously. "Some of your answers surprised me, none were unexpected, and all were truly uplifting. I must say, I feel privileged to work with such dedicated people."

"And we you, Ducky," Jenny assured him. He smiled in response.

"Well, I think we need a break," Tony said, climbing out from under the frame and stretching. "My legs are getting stiff, and we're low on alcohol. Beer run, anyone?"

"I think a break sounds like a good idea," Ziva agreed. Everyone nodded and made sounds of consent, and Jethro shrugged, pouring the remains of his beer down his throat.

"Upstairs, then?"

* * *

**A/N:** Sorry this update took FOREVER, but life is just really hectic at the moment! However, I haven't abandoned the fic, I just can't promise when updates will be. Definitely more frequent than they have been of late, anyway! Thanks everyone for reading, and thanks to my reviewers, too!

_Harknessgirl - _thanks, I've struggled a lot with writing Palmer as he's not explored as much in the show, particularly early s3!  
_spritepie - _thanks for the suggestions, they were really great - as you can see, I went with something different, but I'm glad you're enjoying and getting involved!  
_M E Wofford-_ I'm glad you did find it, and hope you enjoyed the latest chapter :)  
_losingmymind2 - _I agree, I'm trying to write the group as understanding, but at this point Ziva would definitely have taken a pass, as she was very mysterious at the beginning. thanks for reading!  
_kim -_ wow, thanks, I'm really glad you enjoy the lighthearted side! I've tried to strike a good balance between that and the serious, although this chapter was kind of depressing.  
_gonnabemarine - _apologies for the HUGE delay! I've got more free time now though, so watch this space!  
_7 - _haha, I'm such a Jibbsaholic that I can't resist! However I'm trying not to let them take over TOO much ;)  
_xoNCISxo - _I apologise this wasn't any of those 3, but they'll be coming up soon! Thanks for reading!  
_Lost in Romance -_ Um, this wasn't soon, was it? Sorry! I seriously considered your idea, but I couldn't come up with a believable enough story for Palmer, and I so wanted to take his character further this chapter! Thanks loads for getting involved though, and I hope you enjoyed what I did do.  
_aserene - _haha, sadly the Jibbs muses weren't the problem - it was everything else! Got there eventually though, and I'm over the writers' block so there should be more soon.  
_Precious pup - _thanks for the feedback, glad you're enjoying the fic!  
_Alwaysand - _that would have been a good idea, but I wanted Ducky to ask something that he didn't already know, and I think he would know a fair bit about where they all come from :)  
_Jennyngibbsbelong2getha - _I ended up doing something very similar to one of your ideas, so thanks loads for pitching in!  
_Morgan72uk - _Wow, thanks for the praise! That's really nice to hear from an author I like myself :) And, we'll have to wait and see. I've got loads of ideas at the moment, so if there's room for another sex question you'll get it ;)  
_MissJayne- _the muses ADORE Jibbs. I'm going for cute but not out of character at the moment ... may get carried away though!  
_lady-pumpkin-pie - _I loved your idea, and I'm storing it up to potentially use later with someone else, if that's okay? Thanks!  
_Caf Pow - _thanks loads, I thought Gibbs just had to be her knight in shining armour!  
_Mandy - _sorry about the lack of Cairo! That's still to come- I figured they needed to be plied with alcohol before revealing anything haha!  
_Mara152 - _I liked Kate, and felt she needed to be mentioned more at the start of s3, so I figured this worked. I'm glad someone else agreed  
_PsychoMaddy - _haha, too many Jibbs fans! I'm worried I'd get lynched if I made it too Jibbsy considering it's meant to be a team fic tho ..  
_amber-chick - _thank you so much, it's nice to know it comes across okay!  
_olive-girl-92 - _thanks loads for reading, I hope you enjoyed this chapter!  
_JenGibbs1808 - _Jenny's question won't be until chapter 9, I'm afraid! But hopefully you'll enjoy what's in between :)  
_LilMissJenny - _so glad you're enjoying, sorry there's a wait until Jenny's question, but there will be more Jibbs in the meantime  
_ThreeMoons - _sorry about the long wait - that's what university will do to you! But I'm back and very busy writing, promise!  
_MistressMina - _I apologise for leaving you hanging, but the next update should be sooner  
_LoveIsPassion - _I'm sooo sorry you had to wait so long, after having it recommended! I'm very flattered that your cousin and you both enjoy it though, and as I've said, I'm well into it again and should be updating MUCH quicker!!  
_Little Miss Sci-Fi - _I'm really glad you're enjoying so far, plenty more to come and quicker now ;)  
_DancesWithPassion - _Guilty! Apologies! Hope this chapter made up for the wait a little, and I'm going to keep writing as often as I can to make it up to you all!  
_SempreFI - _Thanks for reading and reviewing, there will be more soon!  
_OEJS - _I'm glad you enjoyed the story so far, hope you'll enjoy what's to come!

Wow, so many reviewers!! Thanks tons to ALL of you, and I'm letting you know now, the next chapter won't have a question. It's a little break, just with some banter, some girl chat, some guy chat, some more alcohol, lots of teasing and flirting ... the next question chapter will be chapter seven, and it's McGee's turn. Thanks to everyone for reading, PLEASE stick with me - I've got my mojo back and I really am going to make up for the slow updates!!

Alison xx


	6. Take a break

**Title:** Getting To Know You  
**Author:** CruorLuna (Alison)  
**Rating:** T, for now. May change later!  
**Category:** NCIS: Naval Criminal Investigative Service  
**Genre:** Humour, slight romance  
**Pairings:** Lots of innuendo for Jibbs, and a few for McAbby and Tiva as well, but nothing concrete as yet. Don't be surprised if it gets romantic in later chapters though.  
**Characters:** Gibbs, Jen, Tony, Ziva, Abby, McGee, Ducky, Jimmy  
**Summary:** Abby wants the team to spend some 'quality time' together. Abby being Abby, this results in the investigators and co playing a truth telling game in Gibbs' basement. The past will be revealed, truths told, and surprises are in store for everyone concerned.

**Disclaimer:** No-ot mine, no-ot mine, no-ot mine …actually, even that disclaimer isn't mine! Phoebe Buffay is cool though ;)

**A/N:** Sorry once again for the delay in updates. This chapter is entirely plotless, which made it pretty difficult to write, I discovered! I thought it would be easier, but it really is pretty challenging to construct a chapter around … well, people just killing time, I suppose. So I apologise that it's delayed, but at least you're getting it eventually, right?

Two quick things: first of all, I think I probably will start a oneshot series, but I don't promise to have it up immediately. PM me and let me know which memories you'd like developed! If you'd like to know what I've got coming in the future, check out my profile, where I'm posting a list of upcoming plans :)

Secondly, while I really do appreciate all the reviews I get, and I don't mind being reminded that updates are overdue, I don't particularly like getting reviews that only say "write more." I know not everyone has time to leave long reviews, and I understand that perfectly, but getting two- and three-word reviews that don't actually **review** anything is just irritating. I will continue to update as and when I have time, and you can still feel free to PM me and check up on me if I'm late updating again, but don't use a review just to tell me to write more. I AM writing more, when I can. Asking me WHEN you can expect an update is perfectly okay, but the point of reviewing is to let me know what I'm getting right or what needs improved. If all you want is for me to write more, I assure you, I will be.

Apologies if I sound harsh, but I do love getting reviews, and I always feel like it's a waste of time when a review doesn't actually tell me anything. Thanks to everyone who continues to read, though, and hopefully you'll get more from me soon!

* * *

"Did you know that over three thousand loaves' worth of bread are thrown out every year because people don't eat the crusts?" Abby asked. Jenny, Jethro and Ziva all exchanged glances as the Goth's voice floated out from the back of the refrigerator. She appeared a moment later with a large block of cheese clutched in one hand and some cold meat in the other, turning towards them. The three others were seated around Jethro's counter on the 'hazardous' stools, with bread, butter and knives laid out before them. Abby had decided that, while the others went to collect more junk food and alcohol, she was putting them in charge of making sandwiches as a healthy option.

"Really, Abby?" Ziva asked with a raised eyebrow. Abby nodded enthusiastically.

"Uh-huh," she insisted. "Which is actually ridiculous, because there are so many starving people in the world, and three thousand loaves of bread can feed a lot of people, you know, and it's not just that – I mean, if people don't want them, is it really so hard to just throw the crusts to the birds, and – can you butter?"

"Excuse me?" Jenny asked, blinking at Abby with an expression of utter bemusement on her face. The younger woman held out the butter and a knife, indicating the bread on the counter with her head.

"Butter," she repeated. "You butter, I'll fill, Ziva can cut."

"And Jethro gets away with doing nothing?" Jen joked, shooting a sly grin in his direction, to which he responded with an eye-roll. Abby shrugged.

"He's Gibbs," she replied as though it were obvious. The redhead gaped at her, and Jethro smirked slightly in her direction.

"Tell you what, Abby," Jenny said with a would-be-innocent smile, "why doesn't Jethro make you one of his famous salads? Great as a side dish and delicious with cold meats." He glared at her as Abby turned on him, wide-eyed.

"Gibbs!" she exclaimed. "You cook?"

"Not well," he informed her, ignoring the small smirk on Ziva's face and deliberately avoiding Jen's eye.

"Lies," the woman in question said tartly. "Better than I can."

"Which isn't saying much," Jethro returned instantly, and she poked her tongue out at him in a very unladylike manner.

"I remember being as surprised as you are, Abby," she continued as though he hadn't spoken. "The first time he cooked for me, I refused to take a bite until he had eaten half of his own meal. But I assure you, he can most certainly cook, and well."

"What can you make, Gibbs?" Ziva asked interestedly. He sighed.

"A few things," he answered finally. "Pasta, curry, steak. Nothing special."

"Home-made enchiladas," Jenny elaborated. "Chicken and bacon pasta bake. Baked ham with hand-roasted potatoes. Bouillabaisse. Homemade burgers …"

"Are you done?" he cut her off, and she raised her eyebrows innocently.

"Gibbs, you dark horse!" Abby exclaimed. "Will you make dinner for us one night?"

"Do I really have a choice?"

"No," she grinned happily. "Thanks, Director Shepard. You'll come along to the dinner party, won't you?"

"She can bring the dessert," Jethro offered before she had a chance to respond. "Did you know our good Director here is quite the little baker, Abs?"

"Jethro," Jenny said warningly, but he ignored her. Payback was only fair, after all.

"I didn't know that, Jenny," Ziva commented, surprise evident in her tone. The Director raised her eyes heavenward and pulled the bread towards her, beginning to slap butter onto the first slice.

"I can make a sponge," she said flatly, "and very little else. Agent Gibbs exaggerates."

"You want me to dig out the pictures from Taylor's wedding?" he retorted, getting to his feet resignedly and opening the fridge in search of some salad fixings. Abby turned on Jen with her mouth hanging unashamedly open.

"You can make wedding cake?" she demanded, and Jenny laughed a little.

"I doubt it now," she said amusedly. "I used to be not too bad, but I haven't made much of anything in a very long time. Noemi does most of my cooking for me these days, and I feel much safer that way. I wouldn't want to risk it any more."

"I would be very interested to see what you can do," Ziva said loyally, and Jethro smirked to himself before withdrawing from the fridge, lettuce, tomatoes and onion in hand.

"Thanks a lot," Jenny muttered in his ear as he returned to the stool at her side to start making a salad, and he shrugged.

"You started it," he reminded her just as quietly, as Abby began rambling to Ziva about why more people should really use brown bread. Jen snorted.

"That's mature."

"You're the one who was sticking your tongue out like a child five minutes ago."

"I guess you're a bad influence, then."

"Don't blame it on me!" he said defensively, and she giggled aloud. Abby and Ziva glanced their way, both of them looking far more interested than seemed necessary to Jethro. He and Jenny exchanged looks and both ducked their heads over their tasks again.

"So, anyway," Abby continued, "the wholemeal effort –"

* * *

"Come on, Ducky! I know you know."

"Even if that were true, Anthony, I most certainly would not share it with you."

"Not even if I let you in on the pool?"

"I'm afraid not," Ducky chuckled, shaking his head in amusement. He sat in the front seat of the car with Jimmy, who was the only one sober enough to drive. In the backseat were Tony and Tim, and the former of the two was insistent upon knowing the nature of Jethro's relationship with the Director back in the day. It was true, Ducky had known them very well back then, both together and apart, and he had been devastated when she had left. He thought it may have actually broken Jethro's heart, and he had no intention of revealing any of his friend's deepest, most personal emotions to Anthony DiNozzo.

"Come on, Duckman!" Tony whined, leaning forward and sticking his head between the driver's and passenger's seats. "Just the tiniest clue? My money's on her being ex-wife number one or two – I reckon number three was more recent. Besides, I can't see the Director getting drunk and calling Gibbs incessantly."

"Tony, they might not have been married," McGee pointed out wisely. "Gibbs doesn't have to marry every redhead he meets."

"All evidence to the contrary, Probie," DiNozzo argued, and Ducky laughed aloud.

"All I will tell you, Anthony, is that they were not married."

"Oh … but they were in a relationship?"

"I didn't say that."

"Are you saying they weren't?"

"I am saying that it is nobody's business whether they were or weren't," Ducky clarified, shooting Tony a knowing look. The boy was fishing. "They are colleagues; professionals. There is no need to know any more than that, if there were anything more to know. And I don't think either of them deserves to have their credibility or objectivity called into question by rumours of a scandal, either." Tony frowned slightly.

"But it's all in good fun!" he protested.

"Ducky's right, Tony," Tim sighed. "I really don't think anybody's going to tell you anything, and Gibbs would kill you if he found out. And even you'd feel guilty if SecNav were to call Gibbs out on something that wasn't true, that could jeopardise his career."

"Can it, McLogical," Tony snapped. "I wasn't exactly going to go blabbing to the Secretary of the Navy! I was just curious, that's all."

"Uh, we're here," Jimmy said loudly, shutting off the engine. "Maybe I should go in – I definitely won't be questioned about having too much to drink …"

"I'll come with you, Mr Palmer," Ducky agreed. "What shall we buy, gentlemen?"

"More beer," Tony said instantly. "Ziva, McGee and I'll drink it."

"Abby said she'd prefer vodka, if nobody minds," Tim put in, and the doctor nodded.

"And I think a bottle of bourbon or two, as well," he added. "I'd normally prefer a good Scotch, myself, but I'm outnumbered tonight."

"You could take the Scotch home with you, Doctor," Jimmy suggested helpfully.

"Perhaps," Ducky agreed. "And snacks?"

"Potato chips," McGee said. "And lots of chocolate. Abby, again," he added, when met by raised eyebrows. Tony snorted.

"Figures," he said. "Lots of potato chips, Ducky. And cookies. Ziva loves Oreos, but get chocolate chip as well." Ducky rolled his eyes.

"Very well," he nodded. "Let us go then, Mr Palmer. We shan't be long."

"Take your time," Tony called after them as the car doors shut. He then turned to McGee, a smirk fixed firmly in place.

"What?" Tim asked exasperatedly, and Tony raised one eyebrow.

"Nothing, McGee," he said. "Nothing at all. Just noticing how readily you've been taking orders from our Mistress of the Dark, that's all. I do believe that's what, in our modern society, is known as being well and truly … **whipped**!" He flicked his wrist and imitated the sound of a whip cracking, laughing at his own joke. Tim merely turned to look directly at him.

"Funny," he said dryly, "that's what I was thinking about you."

"Me?!" Tony exclaimed. "Oh, come on, Probie Wan. Tony DiNozzo does not get whipped."

"I don't know, Tony. Hadn't you noticed you were taking Ziva's drinks requests? Naming her favourite cookies? She's only been here a few weeks and you're already bowing down to her every whim. Seems to me like I'm not the only one taking orders from a woman these days."

"You wish," Tony shot back. "I'm just … you know … helping Ziva adjust to American life. After all, it's a long way from Tel Aviv."

"I think she'll cope," Tim retorted.

"Excuse me for being a gentleman," the other man replied easily.

"That'd be a first."

"What exactly are you suggesting, Probie?" Tony demanded, and Tim shrugged.

"I think you like her."

"She's a nice girl."

"Not that kind of like, Tony," McGee said with a dramatic sigh. "I think you **really** like Ziva. I think you have a crush on her. And you're afraid to admit it, because you couldn't use her the way you use your other girlfriends. Firstly, Gibbs would kill you, and secondly, Ziva scares you. If you were to get involved, it would have to be serious, and that thought scares you even more than she does." Tony snorted.

"You – you're a weird one, Probie," he said, a little too quickly for Tim's liking. "I mean, me, and – and Ziva? Can you imagine how crazy we'd drive each other?"

"Obviously you have been," Tim bit back.

"Not gonna happen, McGee," DiNozzo insisted. "Trust me. Besides, don't you think it's a little hypocritical of you to accuse me of being afraid of Ziva, considering your relationship with Abby?"

"Abby and I are not in a relationship, DiNozzo."

"But you'd like to be." Tim didn't respond, and Tony laughed gleefully. "I knew it! But you're terrified of her, aren't you? Was it the coffin that put you off?"

"Actually, it's surprisingly comfortable," McGee informed him, blushing slightly. "And Abby and I are good friends, and I'm lucky to have her as one. That's it."

"Whatever you say, McGeek."

"Just shut up, Tony, all right?" Tim snapped, and Tony's eyes widened slightly.

"Jeez, I was only teasing, Probie," he said in disbelief. "No need to get so tense. You were like that back at Gibbs' as well. What's going on?"

"Nothing."

"I'm sorry, that is the wrong answer – go to jail and think about it, Probie. Do not pass Go, do not collect two hundred dollars."

"DiNozzo …"

"Look," Tony said, cutting him off, "I know I'm a pain in the ass, McGee. It's part of my charm. But if something's bothering you, you know … sometimes it helps to get it off your chest, you know? Share the burden and all that. And something **is** getting to you, whether you want to admit it or not. I may be an idiot, but I'm not dumb."

"I never said you were dumb, Tony," Tim said somewhat sullenly. "This is just … this is my problem, all right? And there's nothing you can do about it." Tony sat forward a little, furrowing his brow as he caught his partner's eye.

"Try me." There was silence for several moments before Tim cleared his throat, his cheeks tinged with pink.

"Ducky's question just hit a nerve for me," he finally said, as though he were choosing each word carefully. "And when Director Shepard told her story … the truth is, Tony, I've still never had that moment. I know deep down that I make a difference – or at least, I tell myself that I do – but I've never had that moment of clarity, where I knew for certain I'd done the right thing in becoming a field agent. I'm still waiting for some confirmation that I'm doing the right thing with my life, and when Ducky asked about it, I just – I froze. I didn't want to admit to everyone that I might actually be a failure." Tony watched him, agape, for several moments, before clearing his throat.

"You're many things, Probie," he said, "many, many things, but a failure? That's not one of 'em."

"Tony –"

"Hey. My turn now," Tony said, wagging a finger in Tim's face. "Look, if you've never had that kind of, I don't know, clarity, then … I'm sorry. I guess you've just not found the one case that really makes you stand up and think about what you've done yet. But I'm sure there will be one, and if there isn't … well, you do make a difference, McGee. I know it's not the same being told it as actually knowing it within yourself, but it's the best I got. Nobody else thinks you're a failure. I think you're a … a great field agent, and I've seen you affect change more times than I can remember. And if you ever tell anyone I said that, I'll slap you silly." Tim ducked his head.

"Thanks, Tony," he said quietly. "That actually helps, a lot. And if you ever need …"

"Yeah, I know, McGee," Tony assured him, clapping him on the shoulder. "I know."

"All right!" Palmer's voice came to them as the trunk of the car opened suddenly behind them. Tim smiled gratefully at Tony before turning to face the front of the car again. "We got enough alcohol and snacks to keep everyone going for the rest of the night."

"And then some," Ducky added with a chuckle. A moment later, the trunk closed again, and the two other men climbed back into the front seats, closing the doors. Ducky turned to Tony and Tim, smiling benignly. "Are we ready to go back?"

"Definitely," Tim said quickly, and Tony nodded mutely. Ducky raised his eyebrows and turned back to his assistant.

"Very well, then. Let's be off then, Mr Palmer!"

"Yes, Dr Mallard."

* * *

"Gibbs! Thish ish delicioush!" Abby exclaimed, her mouth full. She chewed for a moment and swallowed her forkful of Jethro's quick effort at a salad, and grinned at him. "I mean it, Gibbs! I love the dressing – what's in it?"

"Just a regular salad dressing, Abs," Jethro said, shifting uncomfortably. He really needed to have words with Jen after this was over, he thought, shooting her a glare. She smiled widely at him and helped herself to a few lettuce leaves that had dropped onto the counter, widening her eyes tauntingly as she crunched on them.

"Well, I adore it," Abby proclaimed happily. "Thanks for getting him to do it, Director!"

"My pleasure, Abby," Jenny said with a nod. "He needs to relax more, anyway."

"I'm right here," Jethro reminded them. Abby had the good grace to blush slightly, albeit still grinning broadly, but Jen merely quirked an eyebrow at him, as if to say 'who cares?'

"May I?" Ziva asked him, indicating the salad bowl with her head. He nodded resignedly and she leaned forward, spearing a few leaves on a fork and popping them into her mouth. She swallowed and smiled over at him. "It's good," she said simply.

"You see what happens when you're not being an overbearing tyrant, Jethro?" Jen commented blithely.

"Like you'd know," he retorted instantly. She smirked a little as she began piling Abby's mountain of sandwiches onto plates.

"You really have to remember not to underestimate people," she answered smoothly, not meeting his eye once. "After all, the last time you did that, you wound up in hospital for a month, if you'd care to remember."

"What happened?!" Abby gasped, and Jethro rolled his eyes.

"Not my fault," he insisted. "We didn't know the guy had sniper training."

"We didn't know he didn't."

"So we should assume every perp we come across has sniper training?"

"We shouldn't assume that they don't," Jenny corrected. "Isn't that one of your rules, after all? Never assume anything?" Jethro opened his mouth to retort, but was saved the bother of doing so by the sound of the front door banging open and voices floating in.

"Alcohol delivery service!" DiNozzo called out as he led the others into the kitchen, laden with bags. Abby squealed delightedly and rushed to relieve him of two of his bags, peering inside curiously.

"What did you guys get?"

"What **didn't** we get?" McGee groaned, shifting the weight of the bags in his arms uncomfortably. "Boss, is there somewhere we can put these?"

"Sofa, living room," Jethro said with a nod. The four other men turned and led the way, and the entire party gathered around the sofa, where the bags were all abandoned. Abby knelt before them and began emptying their contents enthusiastically, listing the items as she removed them from the carriers.

"Eight jumbo bags of potato chips, variety of flavours … three boxes of cookies, two of donuts … four big bars of Hershey's … peanut butter cups … beef jerky?" She shook her head bemusedly and tossed the packet towards Palmer. "Here you go, Jimmy: this **must** be yours … ah-ha! Alcohol time! Whoa – **three** bottles of bourbon, Gibbs! It's your lucky night! And one of Scotch … two bottles of vodka, and coke for mixing … lots of soda, and lots of beer," she finished with a grin. "Boys, I bow down before you. Excellent haul."

"How much do we owe, and who to?" Jenny asked with a laugh, shaking her head in mock despair as she eyed the piles of junk food.

"Ducky paid," Tim said, but the older man shook his head.

"Actually, Jethro gave me the money," he corrected McGee with a smile, retrieving a few bills from his pocket. "Your change."

"Thanks, Duck," Gibbs said, stuffing it into his pocket.

"So how much do we owe Gibbs, then?" Ziva queried. Jethro shifted slightly.

"Nothing," he said gruffly. "Forget about it. Let's get this lot downstairs, huh?"

"Come on, boss, you can't pay for all that!" DiNozzo protested.

"Yeah, Gibbs, this is a lot of crap," Abby added, gesturing to the sofa. "You'll only drink the bourbon, and MAYBE eat a few chips. We have to give you the money back."

"Don't want the money, Abs," he said gently. "Now can we drop it and take this stuff down to the basement?" There were a few grumbles and protests, but he silenced them with a look, and Tony, Tim and Jimmy began hauling piles of food into their arms. Ducky shot him a knowing smile and patted him on the arm by way of thanks, before following the others as they traipsed down the stairs. Jethro turned to follow, the only remaining bottle of bourbon in his hand, and found his path blocked. He raised his eyebrows in question, and Jenny smiled softly.

"You're such a softie," she said, her tone only mildly teasing. He scoffed.

"All evidence to the contrary," he informed her with a lopsided grin, and she merely shook her head. He attempted to step past her, but she sidestepped into his way again. He let out an exaggerated sigh and looked down at her, his best glare fixed in place on his features. "Move," he ordered her flatly, but she shook her head again, trying and failing to conceal her smirk.

"Uh-uh," she responded, "you don't get to order me around any more, Jethro. I'm your boss now, remember?"

"How could I forget?" he threw back.

"You're not paying for all this," she said bluntly, and he snorted.

"Kind of looks like I am."

"Jethro …" she said exasperatedly, but he didn't reply. He took another step in an attempt to get past her, but she blocked him once more, and he felt more than heard her sharp intake of breath as they suddenly found themselves practically nose-to-nose. He looked down into her eyes, trying to read her emotions, and saw uncertainty in them. Her cheeks reddened slightly and she lowered her gaze.

"Forget about it, Jen," he said quietly, and he was sure she knew he was talking about more than just the money. She swallowed thickly.

"I insist," she said, looking back up at him, her expression now carefully guarded. "I have to pay you back."

"Don't want the money."

"Then I'll find some other way," she retorted, and they both froze as the implication in her words hit them both at the same time. Jenny shifted uncomfortably on the spot for a moment, before a smile began to spread over her face. Jethro allowed himself to grin, and a moment later they were chuckling together, the atmosphere only slightly tense now. Jenny pushed a lock of hair behind her ear, her face still pink as she smiled bashfully. He leant in closer to her and whispered in her ear.

"I look forward to it." Her hands came up onto his chest and gave him a gentle shove away from her, rolling her eyes.

"Get your mind out of the bedroom, Jethro," she said teasingly. "And go get me a glass for that bourbon. I refuse to drink from a turpentine jar."

"Yes ma'am," he joked, passing her into the kitchen. He waited until he heard her footfalls on the stairs before leaning against one of the counters and releasing a long breath. They had been able to brush past it this time, but there was no denying the unresolved tension between them. It was a constant presence, flaring up every now and then when they were alone, and he wasn't sure what to do with it. He had offered her another chance, and she had made her position on any unprofessional relationship between them perfectly clear. But if she really felt that way, why did it seem as if she hadn't gotten over him any more than he had managed to forget how she made him feel? He grabbed a few clean glasses from the cupboard by his head and ran a hand through his hair, forcing himself to empty his mind of these thoughts. He wasn't helping anybody by getting frustrated. He entered the basement again to loud peals of laughter.

"Gibbs, you missed it!" Abby called as he descended the staircase. "Tony does the best Fornell impression! Tony, do it again for Gibbs!"

"Uh, Abs, I don't think Gibbs wants to see –"

"No, go on, DiNozzo," Jethro interrupted as he settled himself back underneath the framework. Tony gulped slightly, his eyes darting around the room.

"Boss?"

"You don't think I've got a sense of humour, DiNozzo?"

"Well, yeah, I mean, of course you do, but … well, you and Fornell are friends, boss, and I didn't know if you would like me to, uh …"

"You and McGee are friends," Jethro pointed out. "Doesn't seem to stop you."

"True," Tony conceded. "Uh, all right …" He shifted a little, trying to imitate Fornell's posture whilst crammed underneath the boat, and cleared his throat as he lifted an empty glass, peering into it. "Well, Jethro," he said, altering his voice so that he really did sound suspiciously like Tobias, "you've done it again. NCIS has no business in our case, and the Directors aren't happy. And I'm sick and tired of paying alimony to our ex-wife – you could have warned me, you know. And another thing – what is this swill you call coffee?!" By now, Abby, Ducky, Palmer and McGee were all killing themselves laughing again, while Jenny and Ziva were chuckling politely, but not quite as uncontrollably as the others. Jethro shook his head despairingly as DiNozzo set down the 'coffee mug' and mock-bowed to his audience.

"I'll be sure to tell Tobias how highly you think of him, DiNozzo," Jethro said dryly, and Tony half-shrugged, grinning.

"Oh, come on, Jethro, it's a little funny," Ducky chortled. "Besides, you should hear the two of you when you get started on Diane."

"Remember to invite me along next time, Jethro," Jenny added with a mischievous smirk.

"You, behave," he said with a false sigh, and she rolled her eyes.

"Wasn't Diane the one who gave you the idea of using your hairspray to blow up that cave, Jenny?" Ziva asked curiously. All eyes turned onto Jen, who glared at her friend.

"Thank you, Ziva," she said through clenched teeth. "As a matter of fact, it was."

"Do tell, Ziva," McGee said with a grin.

"I don't think there's any need for that," Jenny said hurriedly, but Ziva spoke over her.

"We were in Cairo," she began, and Jethro sat up a little straighter, his curiosity piqued.

"Ziva!" Jenny hissed, but the other woman ignored her.

"We had been held captive for over fifty hours by a Hamas cell working out of an isolated cave some miles from the boundaries of Cairo," Ziva explained. "We were spying on them as part of a mission when one of their new operatives stumbled across us by accident, having gotten lost on his way to a secret meeting. He took us before them as hostages. Their plan, I believe, was to collect a ransom from my father in order to help fund their cell. They were deluded if they believed he would ever have paid it."

"But you're his daughter," Abby said, looking confused, as though that should settle all.

"I know," Ziva replied flatly. "And I am also a Mossad officer. Sacrifices are often necessary in the war on terror. My father expects me to understand that, and I do. It is not always about love conquering all, Abby."

"That's awful!" Abby exclaimed, looking horrified.

"That is our culture," Ziva said somewhat more sharply. "I respect and honour the laws of my country and the expectations of my family. It is what a good Israeli girl does." Abby glanced down, appearing humbled, and Ziva continued. "It had been a long, painful two days. We had been beaten many times. The fingers in my right hand had been crushed, and Jenny had no use of her left arm. They had confiscated our supplies, so we had no food; no water. The best we could have hoped for, in my opinion, was a quick death."

"They tortured you?" Palmer asked, his eyes wide. Ziva and Jenny exchanged glances and both nodded, looking unperturbed.

"We expected no less," Ziva said matter-of-factly.

"And it could have been a lot worse than it was," Jen added. Jethro scowled to himself at her being able to talk about being tortured in such a detached manner. At what point between leaving him and re-entering his life had she decided that suffering like that was okay? "We could still walk, and our minds were still sound."

"Well, as sound as they ever were," Ziva said with a small smile, and Jenny glowered playfully at her.

"I maintain that I've always been perfectly sane," she said primly.

"You would."

"Hey!" Jen laughed. "I resent that! Anyway, the point is, we were badly off, but nowhere near as badly off as we could have been. With a little luck, we still had a chance of getting out alive – or at least, **I** was willing to think we did."

"Yes yes fine, I will admit, I was a little … negative," Ziva said, rolling her eyes. "I had known other agents – family and friends, even – who had suffered far less extensive injuries and yet still not managed to escape before being executed. I did not hold out much hope. No matter whether our legs were intact or not, I knew too well that nobody can outrun a bullet. I was only trying to be realistic."

"Pessimist," Jenny muttered.

"Can I continue my story?!" Ziva demanded, but there was an underlying laugh in her voice.

"I wish you wouldn't."

"I wish you would," Tony said, grinning. "I want to hear about the Director blowing up a cave with hairspray."

"And you will," Ziva assured him. Jenny slouched backwards, pouting a little, and Jethro hid a smile. She was adorable when she pouted. _Adorable was another thing __**not**__ to call the Director of NCIS_, he reminded himself sternly. "As I said, it had been over fifty hours since we were taken. We were under twenty-four hour guard, kept tied back to back and were beaten if we even spoke to one another. The only times we could speak were during the few minutes we had alone during shift change. When one set of guards left us, Jenny got to her feet and untied my bonds. I still have no idea how she managed to undo her own without my noticing."

"You don't want to know," Jen assured the group as they all looked at her admiringly, and Jethro caught her subconsciously rubbing her wrists. He grimaced as he pictured what he thought she must have done – forced the ropes over her wrists, no doubt rubbing them raw and causing them to bleed heavily in the process. No wonder the memory triggered a reaction in her.

"Well, anyway, we were somehow both untied," Ziva continued with a shrug. "We only had about three minutes to come up with a plan, but Jenny already had one. She got me up to heed, and –"

"Speed," Ducky put in gently, and she rolled her eyes good-naturedly.

"Very well, she got me up to **speed**, and after making sure that I was fit enough to carry the plan out, we sat back as we had been. We had to wait for another four hours before the next change of guard. When it came, and the guards left, Jenny removed a bobby pin from her hair and had me pick the cell lock – it was not a very sophisticated system, as you may have imagined, being located within a cave. We waited on either side of the entrance for the two new guards to come in, and silenced them quickly by … well, I'm sure you can imagine how we managed it. Once they were unconscious, we left them in the cell and put their hats on over our hair and borrowed their robes to disguise ourselves."

"Robes?" Palmer questioned, and Jenny took up the story.

"Terrorist cells don't exactly have a uniform," she explained with a small laugh. "They wore long dark blue robes that covered all but their eyes. They were perfect for disguising ourselves. Once the guards were silenced, it left us with about four hours to get out of there, but we couldn't count on as long as that. Once or twice since we had been captured, other men had come in and out to speak to our guards. We couldn't bank on having more than forty-five minutes to make our escape, and we were both injured and had no idea where we were going."

"Sounds impossible," McGee said softly.

"That is exactly what I said," Ziva informed him, and Jenny chuckled.

"The way I saw it, they were going to kill us anyway," she shrugged. "I didn't see how it could have done us any harm to try and get out alive. If we made it, we'd be better off, and if not, we could hardly be worse off than we already were. We spent the first twenty minutes walking around in 'deep conversation' and trying to look as suspicious as everyone else while we scoped out the layout of the cave. Once we'd discovered the exit and the best escape route, we eavesdropped on a few conversations until we found out where they were holding our supplies."

"It was surprisingly easy after that," Ziva continued. "We looked like them; I spoke like them; therefore they trusted us to be two of their own. We were able to simply walk up and take our bags. They had searched them, of course, and removed all of our food, water and weapons, but our blankets and other supplies were still there. And Jenny, being … well, being Jenny, I suppose – had five cans of hairspray in her pack." All eyes were on the Director once again, and she laughed embarrassedly.

"You try living in Egyptian heat and keeping this under control without a little aid," she said, indicating her red locks. "Not an easy task. I looked like I'd been dragged through a hedge backwards by the time we got back to the city."

"Lovely image," Tony said, making a face, and the others chuckled.

"Anyway," carried on Ziva, "once we had our bags back, the rest was simple. We were able to fit everything we needed from both bags into one, and we coated the second in hairspray. Then we shook the pressurised cans and I managed to pierce them with the bobby pin, before leaving them inside that bag. I had a box of matches in my pack, and so we carried both bags to the cave entrance. Once there, we dropped the hairspray-covered and –filled bag right at the entrance, and set it alight. The cave was fifty feet from the ground, so we were able to drop to the ground relatively safe from the blast. The fire spread and reached their store of ammunitions. The cave imploded on itself. I do not believe there were any survivors." There was a stunned silence for several moments, before Abby cleared her throat.

"That's insane," she said, looking impressed. "And you managed to get away?"

"Well, Ziva used to be a paratrooper for Mossad," Jenny explained. "She had plenty of experience at falling safely. I managed to break my right ankle on the landing."

"Ouch," McGee said sympathetically.

"She saved my life that day," Jenny said, shooting Ziva a grateful smile, which the other woman returned faintly before ducking her head in what could almost be construed as embarrassment. "She carried me halfway to Cairo, and when I had to rest, she ran – physically **ran** – the rest of the way, bringing back help and food and water for me within a few hours. I'd have dehydrated out there if I had had to walk."

"You exaggerate, Jenny," Ziva said, shaking her head. "You got us out of that cave alive, which I had believed to be impossible. I owed you nothing less than your own life in return."

"It sounds like you two made quite the team," Ducky commented.

"Still do, Ducky," Jenny said, grinning over at her friend, who nodded in acknowledgement.

"How long ago was this?" Abby asked curiously.

"About two years ago," said Jen, and Jethro smiled to himself as he recalled a conversation he and Jenny had had about Ziva a few weeks previously.

"_You really do like her."  
"She's damn good. She saved my life in Cairo two years ago."_

No doubt this was the incident she had been referring to. He had respected and trusted Ziva ever since the incident with Ari, here in this very basement, but he had been curious as to how she had won over the stern Director. Jenny had told him once that she had learned the hard way not to trust too easily, and he had always known her to be wary of her colleagues – and even of him, initially. It was obvious to him, however, that she and Ziva had long since learned to trust one another with their lives, and possibly even more. It was this suspicion that led him to wonder how much exactly Ziva knew of his and Jen's past relationship.

"I love that we got that out of you without it even being a question, Director," Tony jibed, and Jenny half-grinned.

"Don't suppose that earns me an extra free pass?" she tried, but there was an outbreak of protests at the very suggestion, and she held up her hands in surrender, laughing aloud. "All right, all right! Can't blame me for trying."

"You get an 'A' for effort, Director," Jimmy said with a grin, which faltered only slightly when he was met with strange looks. "What?"

"Nothing, nothing at all, Mr Palmer," Ducky assured him jovially. "Now, shall we break out the food and drink? Jethro did not spend all that money for it to be admired, after all."

"Well said, Duck," Jethro agreed. "Jen, bourbon?"

"As if you have to ask," she grinned, and he returned it as he poured her an extremely large measure, something that didn't go unnoticed.

"Jeez, Gibbs, you're not trying to get the Director drunk, are you?" Abby joked. Jenny lifted her glass and tilted her head, peering at it sideways, before shrugging.

"Looks about right," she said, and Abby giggled.

"All right, forget I spoke," she smirked.

"McGee, DiNozzo!" Jethro snapped. The two younger men looked over at him, and he jerked his head towards the collection of bottles. "Get drinks for Abby and Ziva."

"Right boss."

"On it, boss!" Jethro and Ducky exchanged amused glances as the other two scrambled over each other to pour drinks for the ladies, who watched them delightedly. Jenny laughed along with the scene, and Jethro shook his head in amusement.

"Scotch, Duck?"

"Don't mind if I do, Jethro," the doctor said with a nod. Gibbs poured him a substantial amount into a glass, before grabbing a can of soda and tossing it towards Palmer. "Here."

"Oh! Uh, thank you, Agent Gibbs," Palmer said with a brisk nod, cracking open the can.

"Yes, thank you, Jethro," Ducky agreed, toasting his old friend and taking a sip of the amber liquid in his glass. "Mm. Nothing like a traditional Famous Grouse."

"Thank you, Tony," Ziva said, sounding pleasantly surprised as he presented her with one of the many beers, already poured into a glass for her.

"Thanks, Tim," Abby added with a broad grin as he handed her a vodka and coke.

"No problem," the two male agents said in chorus, before turning to glare at one another.

"So, does this mean we're all ready to get back to the game?" Abby asked, an evil smile spreading across her features. Jethro grimaced slightly.

"All right," he said with a sigh. "Who next?"

* * *

**A/N:** Thanks loads again to everyone who's stuck with me through this – you'd be surprised how hard it gets to come up with eight different background stories per chapter, but I really am trying! I'll have more with you as soon as I can, so bear with me ;) Thanks!

Alison xx


	7. A little love

**Author:** CruorLuna (Alison)  
**Rating:** T, for now. May change later!  
**Category:** NCIS: Naval Criminal Investigative Service  
**Genre:** Humour, slight romance  
**Pairings:** Lots of innuendo for Jibbs, McAbby and Tiva, but nothing concrete.  
**Characters:** Gibbs, Jen, Tony, Ziva, Abby, McGee, Ducky, Jimmy  
**Summary:** Abby wants the team to spend some 'quality time' together. Abby being Abby, this results in the investigators and co playing a truth telling game in Gibbs' basement. The past will be revealed, truths told, and surprises are in store for everyone concerned.

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing, I tells ya, nothing!

**A/N:** As usual I update later than planned. Shock! But as I've said before, I am working as fast as I can on this and all my fics, and will continue to update as and when I can, I promise! Uni is over until September, and I remain unemployed as yet, so I'll use my time productively and write some ficage … and keep job-hunting. Boo. Thanks to those of you who haven't given up on me yet – I appreciate it!

* * *

"Actually, I thought I might go next– if nobody minds," Tim added hurriedly. There were murmurs of consent and a few nods around the room, and Abby sat up straighter, grinning like the cat that had got the cream.

"All right McGee!" she encouraged him. "So what's your question?"

"Uh, well, I thought we could each talk about the last time someone told us that they love us," confessed McGee. "I know it's a little personal, but I figure that we're meant to be getting to know each other better, and the people who love us play a large part in making us who we are, so … I don't know; I'm interested."

"That is very sweet, McGee," Ziva said with a rare, genuine smile, and Tim grinned.

"Thanks, Ziva," he returned with a nod. "So, uh – what do people think …?"

"I think it's your question, Timothy," Ducky offered after a beat of silence. "And if you would like to know, then I agree that it would be rather enlightening."

"Thank you, Ducky – then, uh, maybe you could start?" McGee suggested. Jethro grinned to himself. It never ceased to amaze him how his old friend could always make something out of a situation, even when, like this one, it was met with awkwardness and uncertainty from all other angles.

"I would be quite happy to," Ducky agreed. "All right, let me see … ah yes, of course – I believe it was last week … no, the week before that – excuse me. No, no it **was** last week, I'm sure of it – well, more like nine days ago, if I'm being exact … yes, anyway: I remember it quite clearly."

"You sure about that?" Tony jibed, followed by a ripple of laughter and the head slap tally being raised to fifteen again, _just for fun_. Jethro smirked to himself. He would never admit it, and if he did he would blame the alcohol, but he was actually starting to relax and enjoy himself with the team. It was different … but he rather liked it. Of course, that was just another thing he would never admit.

"Yes, Anthony, quite sure," Ducky assured him, chuckling good-naturedly. "Now, one thing you may not know about my mother is that, despite her – how to put it? – **variable** temperament, she is not as fearless as she would like to appear. A great many things can actually reduce her to a bit of a mess, not least of which being any and all creatures belonging to order _Araneae_."

"Spiders," Jenny translated with a shudder.

"Yes, indeed," Ducky confirmed. "I'd forgotten that you shared that phobia with Mother, however, Jennifer. It hasn't improved over time?"

"I should say not," Ziva said with a slight smirk, and Jenny rolled her eyes.

"Rub it in, why don't you, Officer David?" she asked dryly. "I admit, I don't do very well when it comes to dealing with my fears …"

"Nope," Jethro agreed with a grin, right at the same time as Ziva said, "That's an understatement." Everyone laughed along and Jen shot mock-glares at both of her ex-partners, but Jethro could see her struggling to contain her own laughter.

"All right, all right – I am absolutely horrifyingly bad at keeping myself in check when I see a spider!" she relented, letting her resigned, breathy laugh escape. "Speaking of which … your basement used to be infested with the damn things," she muttered, glancing uncertainly towards Jethro. "Tell me they're not going to be crawling all over me when I stand up?!" He shrugged nonchalantly.

"Probably not," he said, and she glared at him.

"Not quite the reassurance I was hoping for!"

"You'll be fine," he said more softly; more sincerely; and she relaxed visibly at his assurance, nodding stiffly.

"All right," she agreed, still looking hesitant. "Sorry, Ducky. So: your mother is clearly extremely rational, and doesn't like spiders."

"I love spiders," Abby threw in, shaking her head in dismay. "They're so misunderstood! Most of the garden-variety ones aren't even dangerous – even if they were to bite you, which is highly unlikely with the common species, the chances of infection are – well, okay, maybe you'd get infected, but the chances of dying are –"

"Don't even tell me," Jenny interrupted, looking positively green. "I'll never set foot outside again." Abby half-grinned.

"Sorry, Director," she apologised. "Go ahead, Ducky."

"Yes, well, for your sake, Jennifer, I shall refrain from going into any great detail," the older man promised. "The short version of the story is that my poor, petrified mother came across a spider in the kitchen last week when I was at work. It was on the kitchen side of the door joining that room with the living room, and so she found herself trapped in the kitchen for five hours, too terrified to leave the room for fear that it would jump onto her as she passed it."

"Poor Mrs Mallard," Jimmy said sympathetically. Ducky nodded his agreement.

"Yes, she was quite distraught by the time I arrived home," he said with a small sigh. "Of course, I removed the spider immediately – I don't believe I had even removed my hat yet, now that I think about it … anyway, I caught the little fellow in a glass and released him at the foot of the garden. Mother was quite overcome with relief – as well you might expect, having been – well, _held hostage_, I believe was how she put it – for the entire afternoon! I had to put her straight to bed with a glass of brandy, and she thanked me for saving her and reminded me that she loved me really – despite the lack of grandchildren."

"Aw!" Abby exclaimed. "Ducky, that's adorable!"

"Yeah, that's sweet, Ducky," agreed DiNozzo with a genuine smile. Ducky returned it.

"She's not such a bad old duck after all," he said with a small chuckle, then paused as silence descended over the basement. "No pun intended, of course," he added, and Jethro snorted appreciatively. This was followed by groans from Tony and Tim, and an eye-roll from Ziva. Ducky shook his head, chuckling.

"That was awful, Duck," Jethro said, shaking his head despairingly.

"Purely unintentional, I assure you," Ducky insisted, still smirking. "My apologies, everyone."

"Not a problem, Ducky," McGee said with a grin. "And I agree with the others – that's a really nice story. It's great that you're so close with your mother."

"Yes, well, I'm all she has in this world – and her dogs," Ducky said with a small chuckle, and Tony let out a groan and buried his head in his hands.

"Those dogs …" he muttered, and Jethro, Tim and Ducky all laughed aloud.

"Kate said –" McGee began, grinning, and then faltered. He cleared his throat and continued in a more sombre tone. "Kate said you could have a great side-career as a pet stylist, DiNozzo," he said with a small smile, and Tony grimaced.

"I'm glad someone thought it was funny," he said, shuddering. "No offence, Ducky."

"None taken, my dear boy!" Ducky assured him with a knowing grin. "Contessa did seem rather taken with you, you know. As was mother, even if she doesn't always know how to show it."

"She keeps a knife in her brassiere," Tony informed them all seriously, and Ziva snorted.

"Do not tell me, Tony – you were afraid of Mrs Mallard?" she guessed, and DiNozzo glowered at her.

"She also thought I was a gigolo," he said, and laughter broke out around the circle. He glared at them all. "It's not funny!" he insisted. "Tell me **that's** not a scary thought! Me, a gigolo … for Ducky's mother." He shuddered again, a look of horror plastered across his features, and McGee beamed.

"DiNozzo, you just made my whole year," he told the other man happily. "But we'll leave you to ponder on that and move on, if it's all the same to you."

"Bite me, Probie."

"Charming," McGee retorted. "Tell you what, Tony – why don't you go next? You know, take your mind off it?" DiNozzo regarded him warily for a moment before shrugging and taking a swig of his beer.

"Works for me," he agreed. "All right, uh, let me see – what was the question again?"

"Last time someone said they loved you," Abby said instantly, watching him with a gleam in her eye. "Come on Tony – dish the dirt!"

"Oh, right," Tony said as the purpose of the conversation seemed to come back to him. "I don't know, hang on … oh, I guess it would be Saturday night. Yeah, Saturday – or, I guess, Sunday morning, technically. About four a.m., to be exact."

"Name?" Ziva prompted, and Tony struggled to conceal his smirk.

"Uh, I'll get back to you?" he offered sheepishly, and everyone groaned aloud. "What?! Oh, excuse me!" he said defensively, half-laughing. "It could be worse, you know. It's not like it was a group or anything."

"DiNozzo …" Jethro said with a sigh, and Tony blanched.

"Right. Sorry, boss," he said quickly. "Anyway, I can tell you exactly what she looked like. Five-eight; blonde hair; brown eyes … well-proportioned. And she had the cutest little button nose, too. I've got her number at home with her name written on it, if it helps."

"It doesn't," Jenny assured him, and he shrugged.

"I tried," he said, seemingly unruffled. "Well, we went for dinner to this great little seafood place I know in Georgetown. We shared a bottle of wine – Italian, of course. I think it was Chianti … anyway; the oysters there are the best I've found anywhere. We had a plate each, and a third to share. Then we went dancing in a small place I found downtown last year. They play good music, not just for kids, and they've got really good security. So at least I know I'll never run into you there, Probie."

"You assume I'd be caught dead somewhere you go, Tony," McGee said boredly.

"Can it, McGoogle," DiNozzo responded, but there were small smiles on both of their faces, and Jethro rolled his eyes. "Anyway, after dancing we went back to her place for drinks and, uh …"

"I think we all know what you went back for, Tony," Ziva interrupted, and he smirked.

"Yeah," he agreed with a laugh. "Well, it was about four o'clock when I eventually left. She told me to call her any time, and finished her goodbye with 'love you, Tony.'" He sat back looking far too pleased with himself, and Abby snickered.

"Wow, Tony, that was … profound," she said dryly, wearing her trademark grin.

"Yeah, DiNozzo, really nice," McGee said, rolling his eyes good-naturedly. Tony merely grinned around at them and winked at Ziva a little too suggestively for Jethro's liking.

"What can I say?" he said, straightening his collar. "It's part of the charm."

"Only you, Anthony," Ducky said with a chortle, shaking his head but smiling all the same. "However, each to his own, as they say. It is certainly love, after a fashion, and as Timothy said, it is a personal concept."

"Yes, but it offered very little insight that we did not already have," Ziva said pointedly, and Tony wiggled his eyebrows in response.

"That's because I don't hide who I am," he retorted.

"It is true – you are certainly easy to read," Ziva agreed, and Jenny laughed aloud, toasting Ziva silently with her glass. DiNozzo sputtered indignantly, and McGee shot him a smirk before speaking over him.

"You know what, Tony?" he said, still smiling. "Ducky's right. It's personal, and we shouldn't judge. Whatever the rest of us think of love … might not be the same, but you're entitled to your own experiences, and I won't take that away from you. So thanks for sharing."

"I feel like I'm being insulted," DiNozzo said suspiciously, but McGee shrugged.

"I was serious, actually," he replied. "But you're welcome to think what you want, and I have no doubt that you will."

"Gee, thanks," Tony said sarcastically. "Come on then, Probilicious. If your experiences of love are so much more 'profound' than mine, then please, share them with me – let me see what exactly I'm missing out on."

"Uh, all right – I guess I could go next," Tim agreed.

"Do you have a girlfriend, McGee?" Palmer asked curiously, and all eyes turned onto him. His cheeks reddened and his eyes widened slightly. "Uh, sorry – I didn't mean for that to sound so, uh … rude. It was honestly just an innocent question – I mean, I don't know if you do or not, so …"

"So you asked," Abby finished, taking pity on him. "Fair enough, Jimmy."

"Yeah, thanks," he said, relieved. "So, uh, **do** you have a girlfriend? Or – or a boyfriend; I mean, that's cool too, if you … I should stop now, shouldn't I?"

"Now, Palmer?" Jethro asked, rolling his eyes, and McGee glowered at the young ME's assistant.

"I don't have a girlfriend," he said, his eyes narrowed, "and I most certainly do not have a boyfriend. If I were to be seeing anyone, it would be a woman – just for the record, Palmer."

"Sorry," Jimmy said, looking embarrassed.

"Don't apologise," Jethro said immediately, turning his head in surprise when he realised Jen had uttered the words along with him. She half-laughed, tucking a loose tendril of hair behind her ear and taking a quick sip of her drink.

"So you still believed that when you worked with the Director, Gibbs?" Abby asked, looking at him sideways. He had barely even opened his mouth to respond when Jenny snorted.

"Oh yeah," she answered for him, eyes rolling towards the ceiling. "Jethro's been a fan of the Duke for far longer than I've known him."

"The Duke?" Ziva repeated, looking bemused.

"John Wayne," Tony explained, and she merely stared at him blankly. "Come on! 'That'll be the day'? One of the most famous lines **ever**!" Jethro caught Jenny's eye and winced slightly at the momentary flash of pain that crossed her face, before she concealed it as quickly as she could. He cursed himself once more. That was something he would never forgive himself for. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Ziva shrug.

"You forget, Tony, that while we have movies in my country, the sayings lose something in translation."

"Yeah, but … never mind," DiNozzo said, shaking his head with a comic 'startled deer' expression on his face. Apparently the concept of someone who didn't know who John Wayne was was enough to stun him into silence.

"So, you were saying, Timothy?" Ducky intervened, steering them swiftly back on topic.

"Oh, right – thanks Ducky," Tim said with a nod. "I think the last time someone told me they loved me, was probably … last month, on the sixteenth."

"What was the sixteenth?" asked Jenny curiously, and McGee smiled softly.

"My sister's birthday," he elaborated, and Jethro saw Tony perk up. As far as he knew, none of them – with the possible exception of Abby – had ever met McGee's sister, and Tony hadn't even known she existed.

"You have a sister, Probie?" he asked now, grinning.

"Yes, and she's too young for you, DiNozzo," McGee responded instantly, shooting a warning look at his colleague. He was so uncharacteristically stern that DiNozzo's grin actually faltered, and he leaned back slightly, surveying the younger man thoughtfully.

"Just taking an interest, McGeek," he said somewhat defensively. "Jeez!"

"Yeah, right," Tim muttered disbelievingly. "Anyway, she's a sophomore at Georgetown, so she doesn't live at home any more, which means that I don't get to see her when I visit my parents. I mean, obviously I'd like to see more of her, but it's pretty difficult, between work, her classes and her part-time job. But with it being her birthday, I thought I should make an extra-special effort and see her the day of, to give her present to her and spend some time with her. She's the only sister I've got, after all."

"Aw, you're so cute, Timmy!" Abby exclaimed, reaching over and tweaking his cheek with a grin. He fended her off, reddening. "Your sister is so lucky," she added. "My brother sends me a birthday card roughly once a year, on no specific date, and I'm pretty sure he gets his girlfriend to buy and write it for him."

"That doesn't sound very nice," Jen said with a small frown, but Abby shrugged, still grinning broadly.

"Oh, it's okay," she assured quickly. "I mean, at least he tries to acknowledge that I even have a birthday, even if he has no idea when it is. Besides, on his birthday, I usually send him joke mail. Or an e-card. He loves e-cards."

"Well those are cute," McGee said with a small smile in her direction. "Anyway, Sarah – her name is Sarah, if I didn't mention that already – and I were pretty close growing up. We lived pretty far out of town, in a nice neighbourhood – nice, but small. There weren't many kids around, so we had to spend a lot of time together. And I was already eight when she was born, so I was old enough to enjoy looking after her a bit. But, uh, I guess that's not really the point, is it? … Well, like I said, it was her birthday, and I wanted to see her; hand over her present, and catch up a bit. So I made reservations at her favourite restaurant and surprised her on campus and we went to lunch."

"You did not tell her in advance?" Ziva asked, eyebrows raised. "What if she had had plans?"

"I didn't tell her about lunch until I'd asked her what she was doing for the rest of the day," McGee explained. "I didn't want to interfere with her plans – and I thought that if I called and told her, she might not make other plans because of it. I only wanted her to come if she really wasn't doing anything, not because she felt she had to."

"Quite gentlemanly of you," noted Ziva, and Tim flushed.

"Thanks … But yeah, it was really nice, actually," he said, smiling reminiscently. "The restaurant was nice, the food was great, and we got to catch up. We ended up sitting there for over two hours just – just talking, about absolutely everything and nothing at all. And I gave her her present, and –"

"What did you get her?" queried Palmer.

"Oh, I got her a first edition of her favourite book, _The Sun Also Rises_."

"Hemingway," Jenny said, looking impressed. "Your sister must be quite the reader if her favourite book is by Hemingway. It's not exactly light reading."

"She's an English major," Tim admitted. "And she really, really loved it, which was such a relief – it took me forever to track down."

"I can imagine," murmured Jen, and Jethro smiled to himself. She had always been a great reader. He found himself wondering if she had any time now to curl up in front of her fireplace with a book and lose herself in it, or if her bedtime reading now consisted of arrest reports. He had a sneaking suspicion that the latter might be the case, and the thought saddened him.

"Yeah," agreed Tim with a wide smile, clearly pleasantly surprised to have found someone else in the team who shared his passion for literature. "Uh, anyway, she had to get back to class eventually, and I dropped her off. She gave me a hug, thanked me for the present, and reminded me that she loved me, even if we don't get to hang out that often any more. It was really nice to hear it, and it made me glad I'd decided to surprise her."

"That's very touching, Tim," Ducky said sincerely.

"Thanks, Ducky."

"I meant what I said before: Sarah is very lucky," Abby repeated with a smile.

"Thank you … uh, shall we move on?" McGee suggested, his ears red. "How about, uh … Boss, how about you?" Jethro frowned slightly, taking a drink as he contemplated his options. He could use his free pass: this was definitely the closest he had come to it so far. Then again, neither Jenny nor Ziva had asked anything yet, and they were the two he was most wary of. And as much as the story was personal, it wasn't so private that it couldn't be shared. And, he reasoned, it wasn't like it would come as any great surprise to anyone in the room. They all knew his track record with women, after all.

"All right," he said slowly, and McGee seemed to let out a breath. "I could be wrong, but the last time I can **remember** someone saying it to me would be … Stephanie." Three things happened then: one unsurprising, one regrettable, and one utterly bewildering. DiNozzo's head shot up, his eyes gleaming with anticipation. Ducky sighed quietly and took a drink of his Scotch, and Jethro felt a pang of guilt. He had always felt bad about costing his friend his relationship with Stephanie, even though Ducky had assured him on countless occasions that he held him entirely blameless in the matter. And, most surprisingly, Jenny tensed beside Jethro, and a quick glance at her told him that she had set her jaw and her face had closed down, betraying no hint of emotion. _Interesting_.

"Who's Stephanie, boss?" DiNozzo asked, looking like he had just received the best news he had heard all year, and Jethro glowered at him. He would tell the story, but in his own time.

"Ex-wife," he grunted eventually, and DiNozzo's smirk widened.

"Last one?" he guessed, and Jethro rolled his eyes.

"Yeah," he conceded. "Yeah, she was the last, DiNozzo. She's a good woman, and our marriage ended … not well, but better than the previous two." One marriage didn't count among the failed, and Jethro hoped that Ducky understood that. "We weren't married for very long – only a year."

"You lived in Europe together, didn't you?" Abby asked, scrunching up her forehead in an effort to remember. Jethro nodded tightly.

"Moscow," he confirmed.

"So that's where you learned to speak Russian!" Tony exclaimed, and Jethro quirked a brow at him.

"Nope," he said shortly. "Learned it years before then, DiNozzo. I was sent to Moscow because I knew the language, and Steph wasn't sure about upping and leaving everything behind to come with me. So, I proposed, and we got married two weeks later."

"Three," Ducky corrected with a small smile, and Jethro rolled his eyes. That was Ducky's way of reminding him that he was okay with the situation, and although he would never say so aloud, it was important to him to be assured of the fact.

"Three," he corrected himself. "We got married **three** weeks later. The year in Russia was good, but the work was tough, and Steph … she hadn't signed on for a part-time husband. I think she would have been more okay with it if we had stayed in the States. She knew before we moved that the job was the way it was, but she seemed to think that because we had changed countries, that the job would change too. When it didn't, she started to resent it."

"Which is completely ridiculous, of course," Jen said dryly, and he turned to look curiously at her. "I mean, she should have figured out that your plan all along was to take her to a country where she didn't know anyone or speak the language and then leave her alone to fend for herself for the vast majority of the time." There were a few stifled chuckles around the circle, and Jethro raised his eyebrows at her.

"How would you know she didn't speak the language?" he asked in a low voice, knowing by the way her cheeks darkened that he had hit the nail on the head. "I didn't tell you that."

"Lucky guess," she countered, but he scoffed.

"You're lying," he said automatically.

"Oh, am I?!" she shot back, and he nodded confidently.

"Yeah, you are," he retorted, nodding meaningfully towards her twitchy right eye. He wouldn't make the mistake of letting the rest of the group in on her tell, but her cheeks turned an even deeper shade of red as she absorbed his meaning. "You going to tell me how you know, or do I have to drag it out of you?"

"We can do this later, Jethro," muttered Jen, ducking her head, but he wasn't interested in later. She was hiding something, and if it was as private as she was making it out to be then she wouldn't have made the mistake of bringing it up to begin with.

"No, I think we'll do this right now," he returned evenly. "What are you hiding, Jen?"

"Do you really want to know?" she asked, looking up into his eyes, conflict raging in her own. He nodded slowly, not at all sure that he did. She sighed. "I met her there," she confessed, a barely discernable trace of bitterness in her tone. He sat back, stunned, and gaped at her, vaguely registering the looks of shock and uncertainty on the faces of his team. She bit her lip.

"You what?" he said finally, and she ran a nervous hand through her hair.

"I met Stephanie in Moscow," she repeated more quietly; more … guiltily? "Only for ten minutes, and by sheer accident. It was June of '01. They sent me over to liaise with Russian Intelligence on behalf of the CIA – I was on attachment for nine months after an undercover op in Tivoli went south."

"And you knew it was her – how?" Jethro demanded, now slightly regretting having pushed her in front of everyone. But what was done was done, and he definitely wanted answers.

"I didn't – not at first. I was browsing a store when she came in looking for boots. She tried to explain what she wanted to the salesperson, but the girl didn't speak any English, and she clearly wasn't getting anywhere fast. I took pity on her and played translator for five minutes so she could get what she wanted. She introduced herself as Stephanie Gibbs, which surprised me. But I didn't put two and two together until you called her on her cell and she answered it 'hey Jethro.' That sort of gave the game away."

"She never mentioned it," he muttered, still completely thrown for a loop. Jenny smiled wryly.

"Probably because I didn't tell her I knew you," she said with a sigh. "I considered it, but I didn't think it would exactly go over well, given the nature of –" She stopped herself mid-sentence, and Jethro cursed internally as DiNozzo and Abby exchanged meaningful looks. Jenny took a deep breath before finishing her sentence. "Given the sensitive nature of the ops we worked on," she corrected, covering her tracks almost flawlessly. He had to give her credit for that much. He nodded slowly.

"Makes sense," he agreed. "Decker would have slayed us both if any of the work we did was compromised." She shot him a grateful look and cleared her throat.

"Anyway," she said meaningfully, "enough strolling down memory lane. Like I said, we can discuss it later if we have to. You were explaining that your relationship was a little … rocky."

"Understatement of the year, but yeah," conceded Jethro, effectively shutting DiNozzo up before he could even open his mouth. "Long story short, we got back to the States and filed for divorce a month later. Turns out the damage was already done. It was at the very end that she said it for the last time. We met up to sign the papers once they came through – went for coffee to say goodbye, or whatever you want to call it. She got a bit emotional. It was nothing new for me, but it affected her. Right before she left, she told me she still loved me, but she just couldn't live with me." There was silence for a moment, and he finished off with a more light-hearted comment. "Not that I blame her," he added. "I wouldn't want to live with me."

"Well, since you admitted it …" Abby said slyly, and he shot her a look, at which she giggled. "Well, sorry, Gibbs, but I can see her point. You must be impossible to live with."

"Oh, he is," Jenny assured them all casually, snorting at the glare he shot her. "Don't look at me like that! I have one word for you, Jethro."

"Hmm?"

"Positano."

"Hey!" he defended himself, and she giggled at his expression. "Excuse me for being a little difficult with a bullet lodged in my ass!"

"You had to live with him when he was like that?" Tony asked Jenny, eyes wide. "How long before you wanted to kill him yourself?"

"Oh, I already did," Jen promised. "That was the longest two weeks of my life."

"You walked around with a bullet in your – uh, **there** – for two whole weeks?" Palmer asked, horrified, and Jethro grimaced.

"We couldn't risk leaving the apartment," he said resignedly. "We weren't in the clear yet, and I could barely walk, let alone run for cover. And we couldn't afford a doctor anyway – we were out of touch with NCIS, in deep cover, and had no access to extra funds until the end of the fortnight."

"Is that why you never let us get out of contact, boss?" McGee asked curiously.

"Well yeah, McGee – that and it's just common sense," Jethro replied with a hint of sarcasm. Tim half-chuckled and nodded to concede Gibbs' point.

"True," he admitted. "Well, thanks for sharing, boss."

"Yes, that was most interesting, Jethro," Ducky concurred, a gleam in his eye. "It certainly does sound like Stephanie."

"You know her, Ducky?" Tony asked, staring agape at the Medical Examiner.

"Oh, I should say so – I introduced the pair of them," Ducky revealed with a small laugh. DiNozzo raised his eyebrows, looking stunned by the admission, and Jethro upped the tally to sixteen. McGee cleared his throat.

"Uh, shall we go on?" he suggested. "How about you, Palmer?"

"Oh!" Jimmy looked surprised, but sat up a little straighter, looking thoughtful. "Uh, sure, I'll go next – let me think … I guess it was probably … I think it was my grandfather, actually."

"Your grandparents are still alive?" Ziva asked, looking more than a little surprised. Jimmy looked taken aback and glanced around him nervously.

"Uh, three of them," he said with a nod. "Why?"

"Sorry, it is just – it is unusual in Israel to still have your parents by the time you are twenty-one, never mind grandparents," she said, shaking her head slightly. "At least, it is unusual if your family is Mossad, as mine is, and as are most of the families I was raised with. Our family is something of an exception to still have one parent living, although it is somewhat excused by the fact that I am the only surviving child."

"I didn't know that, Ziva," Abby said softly, looking horrified. Ziva smiled sadly.

"Yes," she confirmed. "I had a sister and a brother, both of whom are dead, and my mother is also dead. I have wondered if part of the reason my father allowed me to come here was so that he might not lose all of his children – his slaves in Mossad."

"Slaves?" Tim repeated, looking aghast.

"Any Mossad operative is a servant of my father's," Ziva said shortly. "He can order them to do what he will, and they will do so. They can, however, refuse. Their lives will most likely be forfeit, but they have the option to run. His children have never had that choice – we are bound by honour to follow his instructions, no matter what. Running is not an option for us – for me."

"Wow," Jimmy murmured, staring awestruck at her. "I had no idea it was so tough for you, Ziva. I can't imagine losing my brother." Jethro saw a muscle tighten in Ziva's jaw before she answered.

"He had to die," she said coldly. "He was my brother, and I would not have wished it for him, but his work prevented it from ending any other way. It is not something we speak of in my family."

"Sorry," Palmer said, blushing profusely. "Uh, yeah, I'll just … well; anyway, I'm pretty sure the last person to tell me they love me was my granddad. He just got a computer about two months ago, and he's been taking a class at the local Senior Centre. He finally learned how to email last week, and he sent me an email telling me he misses me and that he's proud of me. He finished it with 'I love you, Jimbo.' He always called me Jimbo when I was a kid – I don't really know why …"

"How adorable is your granddad?!" Abby exclaimed. "'Jimbo.' That's so cute."

"You think everything's cute, Abs," Tony said with a laugh, and she mock-glared in his direction.

"Hey, this is a cute question!" she defended herself. "Well, unless you're Gibbs, in which case it's kind of sad, I guess. And if you're you, Tony, it's just … a normal amount of cuteness."

"Which is a lot, because I'm extremely cute, right?" DiNozzo joked with a grin, and everyone rolled their eyes.

"Right," Abby agreed with a sly smile. "Whatever you say, Tony …"

"Well, I think it's sweet," McGee said, nodding towards Jimmy. "You're lucky you've still got your granddad and that he makes such an effort to stay in touch."

"Yeah, I am," Palmer agreed, smiling. "And that Grandma let him have the computer. He loves modern electrics – and he really likes to play around with them in the garage. It drives Grandma absolutely crazy. She says if he ever brings home a PlayStation she's going to lock him in the garage with it until it explodes."

"Your grandma sounds **awesome**," Abby said with a grin.

"She's – she's a little old-fashioned, but she makes the best chocolate-chip cookies in the world," said Jimmy, smiling. "And the best meat loaf."

"Was that an invitation to dinner at Grandma's, Palmer?" DiNozzo teased, and Jimmy paled.

"Uh, I guess …"

"He's kidding, Mr Palmer," Ducky said reassuringly, chortling. Palmer laughed nervously.

"Right. I knew that," he promised.

"Uh-huh," McGee laughed. "Thanks for the insight, Palmer … How about you, Director Shepard?" he suggested, and Jen cleared her throat softly, glancing sideways at Jethro before replying.

"Pass," she said, softly but clearly. Abby's face fell noticeably, but even DiNozzo refrained from pressing the issue.

"Are you okay, Director?" Abby asked quietly, and Jenny forced a smile and nodded.

"Of course," she lied, seemingly unaware of her madly twitching right eye. "It's just not something I feel comfortable discussing right now." Her gaze shifted seemingly unconsciously onto Jethro again, and he felt his gut squirm as he flashed back mentally to the last time **he** had told her he loved her.

_He was shuddering above her, his arms quaking on either side of her squirming body … she was screaming his name as he drove her over the edge … he was groaning as he fell over with her, collapsing onto the bed and rolling off of her … she was curling into his side, kissing every inch of him she could reach … __**you're amazing**__, she was gasping against his skin … he was tilting her face upwards, capturing her lips in a smouldering kiss … __**only because of you**__, he was replying … she was smirking at him as she rolled over and straddled him … __**not tired yet, are you?**__ she was asking teasingly … he was kissing her tenderly, fisting his fingers in her hair … __**I love you, Jenny**__, he was murmuring against her lips as her hands splayed over his chest … she was looking down at him, a strange look in her eyes … __**I love you too**__, she was whispering, closing her eyes and breathing deeply for a moment … he was reaching for her; wanting to reassure her … she was grabbing his wrists and stopping him from touching her, the sadness gone and replaced with a mischievous gleam in her eye … _

They had made love once more before falling asleep, and when he had woken up, she had been gone. His heart clenched as he remembered the feeling of waking up to realise she wasn't there; wasn't coming back. Jenny's gaze dropped swiftly from his, as though she had read his thoughts, and her cheeks coloured ever so slightly. He sighed internally and pushed memories of their last night together from his mind. There were some things he definitely didn't want to be thinking about in a room full of his colleagues. A quick glance around assured him that nobody seemed to have noticed his and Jenny's shared pain, and he hoped to keep it that way. McGee spoke up again.

"All right, then let's move on," he suggested with a genuine smile in Jen's direction. Jethro silently thanked the younger man – his sensitivity was probably what she needed right now. He couldn't help but wonder if the moments he had just been reliving were the ones she hadn't wanted to discuss – if the last six years had been so different for her than he had imagined … if she hadn't moved on after all. "Ziva?" McGee said, drawing Jethro's attention back to the circle. "Why don't you go?"

"Certainly," Ziva said with a nod and a small smile. "I am sorry to say this story is not nearly as … cute, or as happy, as most of the others'. I think it is safe to say that it is also sadder than Gibbs', and I apologise in advance. The last person that I think – no: that I **know** – to have told me that they loved me, was my little sister, Tali."

"You said … she died?" Tim asked gently, and Ziva nodded hurriedly, blinking a little more often than was quite natural.

"Yes," she said, sounding only a little choked. "Yes, Tali was killed several years ago now. She was only sixteen years old, and a far better person and child than either my brother or me. My father likes to remind me of her when I disappoint him. She was seven years younger than me, but she became my closest friend as we grew up together. We spent most of our time together, when I was not working and she was not at school. She said that she wanted to join Mossad and be like me, but she never had the chance."

"That's so awful," Abby breathed.

"How did she die, my dear?" Ducky asked her softly. Ziva looked up, her face set and any trace of the phantom tears gone.

"She was killed in a Hamas suicide bombing, in my mother's village some thirty miles outside of Tel Aviv," she said levelly; her tone almost detached. Then again, Jethro thought, that was probably the only way she could get through it. "We were not sure if she had arrived yet when it happened, but three days after the event we received confirmation that she had been there. The same village had been bombed some years previously – my mother was killed in almost the exact same spot as Tali. My father uses Tali as an example of why we must continue our work in Mossad; why we must recruit, but I … I do not think that Tali would like that. She wanted to be a strong woman when she grew up, but she would have worked in politics. She would not have become an assassin. Tali did not want lives to be taken – she wanted to prevent more massacres. She was a believer in the power of speech. Words not deeds."

"She sounds like a hell of a girl, for a sixteen-year-old especially," Tony said, reaching over and squeezing Ziva's shoulder somewhat hesitantly. Ziva nodded slowly.

"She was," she agreed quietly. "She was going to visit our mother's cousin in the village for three weeks. I helped her pack her bags before she left. The last time I saw her, we said goodbye. We did not think that it would be for the last time. She was planning her birthday party … She asked me to ask my father if he would actually attend for the first time since our mother died, and I said I would. She hugged me and said '_Ani ohevet otakh, Ziva_'. 'I love you, Ziva,' in Hebrew. Since she died, nobody else has said that to me. My brother and I were friends and colleagues more than family, and I do not believe that my father has any love for anyone or anything other than his job."

"Oh, Ziva …" Ducky sighed, shaking his head. "I am truly sorry for your loss."

"Thank you, Ducky," she acknowledged with an inclining of her head. Abby bit her lip, seeming hesitant, before surprising everyone by leaning across and hugging the Israeli. Ziva looked more stunned than anybody else as Abby gave her a short, hard squeeze and then pulled away, settling herself back into her position.

"Sorry, Ziva," she said simply, and Ziva nodded, looking a little dazed.

"Thank you, Abby …" she said, regarding the Goth with confusion, with just a hint of a smile playing on the corners of her lips. Jethro winked at Abby and gave her a small smile, which she returned faintly. No matter what her feelings on Ziva might still be, she had at least meant it when she had said she would try, and that meant a lot to Gibbs. Ziva would never replace Kate, but that didn't mean she couldn't find her own niche in the team.

"Thanks for telling us, Ziva," Jenny offered quietly. "I know how much she meant to you."

"She would have liked all of you very much," Ziva said with a slightly wider smile than before. "You especially, Jenny. I often wished she could have met you in Egypt."

"If she was anything like you, I'm sure I would have liked her too," agreed Jen, and Ziva's eyes lit up almost imperceptibly.

"_Toda_," she murmured. "And I am sorry for bumping everyone down."

"I think you mean 'bumming us out,'" put in Jimmy with a smile, and Ziva sighed dramatically.

"That too," she agreed, and Tony and Jethro both smiled.

"Well, thank you for that, Ziva," Tim said with a grateful nod. "It can't have been easy, but it was really interesting, and really touching."

"You are welcome, McGee."

"So that just leaves you, Abby," said Tim, turning to Abby, whose grin broadened.

"Mine's kind of ridiculous," she warned them.

"Nothing new there then," Jethro muttered, and her mouth dropped open in fake shock.

"Gibbs!" she exclaimed. "I am hurt!" He just looked at her, and she cleared her throat hurriedly. "All right, moving swiftly on," she continued, smirking. "The last time someone told me they loved me was three weeks and two days ago. And four hours. And seventeen minutes … ish. Maybe eighteen …"

"So about three weeks ago," Tony prompted, and she grinned.

"Right," she agreed. "And it was Sister Bernadette."

"I did not know you had a sister, Abby," Ziva said, looking surprised. Abby laughed, then sobered quickly at the hurt look on the other woman's face.

"No, I don't," she explained. "Sister Bernadette is a nun."

"Oh," Ziva said, nodding as though she understood. She then stopped mid-nod, scrunched up her face in confusion, and shook her head instead. "Wait a minute – a **nun** was the last person to tell you she loved you?"

"Yeah! She's on my bowling team."

"You bowl … with nuns?" Jen asked, quirking an eyebrow, and Abby nodded proudly.

"Uh-huh. And three weeks, two days, four hours and seventeen or eighteen minutes ago, I bowled the final frame in the championship final," she said with a huge smile gracing her features. "I bowled a two-ninety, and it won us the game. We won the trophy, which is so cool, because nobody expects to go into a convent and see this massive gold gleaming statue on the mantel, but that's where they're keeping it, and they're going to get a group photo blown up and framed and put it on the wall above the fireplace." She finished with a short nod, as though that explained everything. Everyone gaped at her for a moment, before DiNozzo spoke up.

"And this is why Sister Bernadette loves you?" he attempted to clarify.

"Well yeah," Abby said, looking at him as though it were obvious. "Because I won us the championship for the first time. We were all jumping around and screaming and cheering and hugging and she just shouted it at me. 'Way to go, Abigail – we love you!' They offered me the trophy for my apartment, but I said they should have it. I can see it whenever I go over there, and I could never have won it without them. So I said they should put it on the mantelpiece."

"I see …" Tony said, raising his eyebrows in Ducky's direction and widening his eyes as though to say 'she's crazy.' Which Jethro decided to let slide, because it **was** Abby.

"Wow," Tim said, staring at her as if he wasn't sure whether to be impressed or worried about her. "Uh – thanks, Abby – thank you, everyone. I know it was a bit of a strange question, but I really enjoyed getting to hear all of your answers, so … thanks."

"All right, Probie. So who's next?" Tony asked, looking around, but Abby stuck her hand in the air quickly. "Abs, you've already asked."

"No, not that," she said, sticking out her tongue. "I wanted to say something before we change the topic. I know it's not the same, and I know it might not make a huge difference, but … **I** love all of you." Everyone smiled; truly smiled, at that, and Jethro raised his glass to Abby in a toast.

"Hear, hear."

* * *

**A/N:** Sorry once again for the lack of updates of late – a large problem is the time thing, but it's also getting my head around this fic. I really need to be in the mood to write it, because a lot of the stories – like Ziva's – are pretty emotional, and I feel like I have to at least try to do them justice. So I'm sorry it takes me a while, but I hope you'll bear with me. Thanks to those of you who have stuck around, and I hope you enjoyed the chapter – I'd love to hear, as always!

Alison xx


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